


Dragon Souls - Book One

by HellfireRaven



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 59,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellfireRaven/pseuds/HellfireRaven
Summary: Dragon Lords, those born of the gift of shifting from their human bonds into those of powerful beast of folklore at a simple will. Every Lord when he come of age must chose an Empress to rule his land beside him, just and strong, cunning and true. His Queen must protect and cherish her Dragon, his chosen, his equal.Just what had Lucy signed up for?
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Zeref Dragneel/Mavis Vermillion
Comments: 45
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow another story that hasn't left me alone for months, don't worry I'm several chapters in to this one already so posting won't interfere with Makarovs Circus but it takes on a different tone than that story. I was inspired to write Dragon Souls loosely based on the short stories by Penelope Fletcher (wish she had more than two books!) so I will be adding my own spin on things. Anyways please enjoy and let me know what you think! See you soon!

_\- Legend tells of a hidden world just on the other side of the veil that be ruled by the Dragon Lords, those born of the gift of shifting from their human bonds into those of powerful beast of folklore at a simple will. Every Lord when he come of age must chose an Empress to rule his land beside him, just and strong, cunning and true. His Queen must protect and cherish her Dragon, his chosen, his equal. Chosen from nobility of powerful families, each potential warrior must compete in grand tournaments to claim their Dragon, the final test is to earn his surrender...his submission...for to earn the throne is to earn the Dragon's love in return... -_

**Dragon Souls – Chapter One – Ash and Brimstone**

Rubbing away specks of hot ash that had suddenly blown straight into her eyes from a change in wind direction, Lucy frowned.

This had to be some sort of extremely vivid dream, right?

Dust from the dry, arid landscape choked her lungs enough that she was forced to hold her sleeve in front of her mouth, embers that were drifting on the wind stinging her bare skin wherever they touched her. Had her vision not been blurred so suddenly, the blond might have had the opportunity to take in all that the picturesque beauty of the strange world she had seemed to step into quite by accident.

Eventually successful in her effort to rid her watery eyes of foreign objects, she found her jaw dropping open; her sleeve rubbing at her eyes in case she was hallucinating.

Unfortunately, the scenery remained the same.

Lucy found herself in a barren land, devoid of flora or fauna. Dead or petrified trees dotted around the area stood frozen in time amongst charred rock that crumbled to dust under foot of her sturdy hiking boots. The large and jagged volcano that was erupting magnificently just half a mile away was the source of the hot ash, sulphur and heated rock billowing into the atmosphere, a plume of superheated air rising thousands of feet into the sky. Lava carved channels into the side of the mountain, running like deadly rivers that destroyed anything in their path. Flames, actual flames, danced across the sky; rolling back and forth from one end of the horizon to the other, bathing the gargantuan plume of smoke in hues of orange and yellow.

An atmosphere ablaze above her in a sea of grayscale.

Lucy wracked her brain for a reasonable explanation as to her sudden arrival in such a strange world of ash and brimstone, but for all of her theories, she ultimately harked back to her earlier question...this was just a dream right?

Anything could happen in her dreams.

And so, fully under the belief that this strange new world was nothing more than another nightly escapade of her imaginative mind, Lucy simply shook her head, smiled excitedly and set off towards the rumbling giant in the distance; eager to find another grand adventure.

She would soon find out, however, that she certainly wasn't in Edolas any longer...and if that wasn't bad enough –

She was being watched.

* * *

_Two days before..._

The ballpoint pen that moved back and forth between her wiggling fingertips absently as she sat at her tiny desk and stared off into space, was helping to distract her from the irritating racket the monstrosity of a printer was making as it vibrated violently; churning out several pages of the fourth redo of her latest article.

Lucy Ashley was a junior reporter for the Edolas Royal Bugle, a rather fancy name for a publication with a history of inconsistent articles of mostly fabricated stories and exaggerated poppycock; but Lucy wasn't one to openly complain, she hadn't exactly been afforded the luxury of choice between job offers. A nineteen year old fresh from college studying journalism at the time, had applied to ever paper, magazine and publication as far away from her childhood home as she could possibly get; tossing her fishing rod into a sea of opportunity and misguided optimism. Months of waiting ensued with only a few tugs on the reel, but no big fishes taking her bait. The blond beauty had instead taken a small job at the local Historic Society updating thousands of tomes to digital format in order to try and generate interest for the town's museum, who were lacking younger visitors who frankly spent most of their time on their cell phones than being bothered to pick up an actual book.

Two years had gone by before she knew it and, while she enjoyed reading about the history of their country as she typed, Lucy was eager for a real challenge.

One Thursday, Lucy had received an unexpected phone call from her cousin, Michelle. They had not spoken in person for several years since the sad passing of Lucy's mother Layla, and had moved away a few months later; but the young women kept in touch via text message or email occasionally.

Michelle lived in the Royal City, the 'Amusement Park of Edolas' as it were called, it wasn't actually a theme park; but with it's gaudy neon lights, casino's and a very lively party scene to boot; it may as well have been. Her cousin lived a normal life during the day, a Receptionist in the Human Resources department at the Bugle; but by night, she donned her finest wear and partied it up with the best of them in glamour and extravagant expense.

The twenty three year old had graciously offered Lucy a place to stay until she got on her feet, regardless of her trepidation of moving to the city of lights, parties and extravagance; the younger woman had jumped at the opportunity to finally have a chance to realise her dream of becoming a reporter.

So, Lucy had handed in her notice at work, sold what little expendable items she owned, packed her bags full of what few clothes she owned, three boxes of books, an old set of decorative keys she had inherited from her mother; boarded the next flight to the capital and flown East.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, the twenty year old had arrived at the airport to find her glamorous cousin looking like she had walked out of the pages of a fashion magazine, dressed in what Lucy assumed were designer clothes, hair and makeup looking flawless, diamond jewellery and needle thin stilettos on her feet. A dazzling set of pearly white teeth had greeted her enthusiastically while the budding reporter had felt woefully underdressed in her thrift store band tee, ripped jeans and tatty old sneakers.

The first week in the city had been a harsh eye opener to the woman who had been raised solely by her kind and loving mother (Layla didn't talk about her father much, simply explaining he had left one day just a month before her mother discovered she was pregnant with Lucy). The young girl had been tempted to try and find her father after her mother had died, but without any information to go on, the trail had run cold very quickly; Lucy didn't even have his name. 'Little Princess' as her mother called her, had soon learned her independence and how to take care of herself; Layla struggled through three jobs to keep a roof over their heads and while they had nothing extravagant, they lived a comfortable life.

People in the Royal City were, for all their finery, cold and sometimes rude; rushing about between work and home without so much as a hello or glance towards one another; Lucy didn't believe it was possible to feel lonelier in a big city than she did in her hometown. The feeling only got worse when she eventually found an apartment cheap enough to rent that didn't leave her eaten noodles for the rest of the month.

Michelle always told her she ate far too much, dressed like a homeless woman and was always trying to give her a makeover; in her cousins words, not that she wasn't naturally beautiful...but she was wasting her 'potential'.

Lucy had to stop herself from responding negatively to her jabs.

Lucy wasn't one for frivolities, she spent her money on things she actually needed and what she had left over, she put away for saving. The blond was an expert thrift shopper, buying quirky pieces that matched her personality, she bulk bought her food, cooking large batches and freezing portions in case she fell on hard times. Her one treat, she'd adopted a mischievous tom cat from a local shelter that made her cousin sneeze.

On the complete opposite side of the spectrum from three months of living with her cousin, Michelle wasn't earning the money to fund her extravagant lifestyle. Rolling in debt, she spent her money as fast as she earned it on partying, designer clothes and accessories and, Lucy was convinced, illegal substances. She forever complained about money, not having any or never having enough. Lucy had only listened to her woes, having made the mistake of letting slip about her savings account; Michelle was constantly on the scrounge.

After failing to pay her back, Lucy had lied and told her she had a fraction of the amount that she had saved. Barely enough to cover her rent. The blond had received a substantial amount of money from her mother that Layla had been secretly adding to over the years. It wasn't until Lucy was much older that she realised why her mother had worked three jobs.

Layla had saved every spare penny to ensure her only daughter could have the means to start a comfortable life.

Lucy could have started a business, put down a deposit on a nice house; but instead she chose to use some of it to put herself through college and make her dreams a reality. She had taken a gap month or two to do some travelling, but Lucy still had more money than she knew what to do with, she had a steady paid job, a tiny but functional apartment and food on the table.

So she simply left it in her saving account, used for emergencies like repairs, new appliances...important things.

Because of her spend-thrift lifestyle, Lucy wasn't much for socialising, she had a few acquaintances...but no real friends. Superficial people tended to look down on the pretty but bookish blond with second hand clothes, tatty apartment who would much rather spend time with a good book.

Lucy had inherited her mothers love of books, she spent years in heroic tales of exotic lands, myth and monsters, dashing warriors in battle and exciting tales of magic and adventure. The quirky blond beauty was well known around the Bugle to always have her nose in the pages of a book, or to be regularly seen daydreaming on her lunch break. Her imagination was her playground, books were an escape from her life as a barely known reporter.

She quickly earned the nickname 'La-La Lucy' by her peers, her looks were seen as a commodity, but no one really approached her.

Suddenly being shook from her absent minded pen twirling by a loud knock on her desk, Lucy jumped slightly at the sight of her boss, Jason, giving her an amused smile with an eyebrow raised. The russet haired male was only a few years older than her, one of only a few colleagues who had actually tried to get to know her instead of just believing rumours.

He was Junior Editor of the 'In Other News' section of the paper, the section at the back next to the apartment listings before the personal adds. Jason took his job very seriously, but was under the impression that his department wrote about the most boring things on the planet. He was one of the few Editors who made the effort to boost morale and encourage his staff to adopt a positive mental attitude to their laborious work.

Since most of the time Lucy was so far removed from a positive mental attitude to her job that sometimes his peppy attitude made her want to staple his favorited pen to his forehead; but the man was perfectly alright in small doses.

She learned to greet him with a cheerful smile and a secret giggle at whatever hideous tie he was wearing today.

"Good afternoon, Boss."

"Ah...it's Jason, Lucy. None of my staff need to call me 'Boss', first rule of keeping a happy work relationship with your staff –"

"Keep a healthy supply of hard liquor in the staff room?" Lucy piped up.

"Sadly not...the first rule is to loose the formalities, second...make sure to avoid Mr Erickson at all costs to minimise the threat of world annihilation." Jason spoke cheerfully.

Unfortunately, as annoyingly peppy as Jason could be, her Boss's Boss was the complete opposite. Pete Erickson was a rotund and slimy man with a badly glued on brown toupee who's angry face resembled that of a fully inflated puffer fish, he was born in a time where dinosaurs walked Earthland and sadly had the incurable condition of being without a personality. He had no idea who Lucy was, or what she did but he had no trouble remembering she had a pair of obnoxiously large boobs that he leered at several times a day while continuing to call her Lacy.

"Anyhoo Kangaroo, great job on the article on the Sewer System Incident...Erickson flung it at me to read before he went to his second lunch. Never laughed so much in my life!" Jason wiped a tear from his eye.

"I thought the title 'The Free Stool-ges' was a pretty catchy title if I do say so myself...but your Boss didn't think so, I've just finished my fourth redo."

Jason grimaced in sympathy but soon his face turned to alarm at the sight of the very man they were discussing waddling towards Lucy's desk with a wad of paper crumpled in his hand, puffer fish mode fully activated and spittle flying frown his jowls.

"Pervy Pete alert...man the battle stations! Good luck, private Lucy!" Jason saluted dramatically and quickly darted around the corner and back into his office.

"Gee thanks." Lucy grumbled.

"LACY!" Mr Erickson spat as he rolled to a stop next to her desk, his belly rattling her computer monitor ominously.

"It's Lucy, sir. Is there something –"

"I don't care if your name is Lily, Lyla or Linda! How many times do I have to tell you to stop writing humour into the damn articles...our readers want hard facts not a comedy sketch!"

Lucy had to use all of her willpower not to roll her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I just thought our readers might actually read the column if it had a little humour in it."

"WRITE IT LIKE I DAMN WELL TELL YOU TOO OR YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF ANOTHER JOB!"

Lucy nodded with a grimace of disgust as his beady eyes dropped to leer at her chest before he stormed away. She counted herself lucky that she had anticipated criticism from the Editor and had already finished her final draft. It was now a two thousand word spread detailing the inner workings of the sewer system pump malfunction devoid of any sense of flair or interest. There were three paragraphs droning on about how the rubber seal degradation was found to be the cause of fifty six toilets and a hotel septic tank overflowing one afternoon.

Riveting...

Jason had popped up like a ninja shortly before the end of her work day and just in time to collect her contribution to the next day's paper and, judging from the loud yawn that her boss let out after finishing it; Lucy had succeeded in making her article as boring as humanly possible.

"I'm not sure if I'm offended or pleased that my writing has the ability to put our readers into a boredom induced coma." Lucy remarked dryly.

Jason let out an obnoxious bark of laughter so loud at her joke that Silent George from the Sports Desk scurried away from the coffee machine with a hiss like a skittish cat.

"Well since most of our readers have all of the personality of a Flat-worm I don't see much of an issue."

"I just can't believe my longest article to date in the city that never sleeps is a column about a Poo-splosion." Lucy sighed dramatically, placing her chin on her desk.

"Chin up. You'll get your break one day!"

"Preferably before my toilet backs up."

* * *

"Happy, I'm home!"

Lucy took the key out of the lock and squeezed through her apartment door with a paper bag of groceries in one hand and her tatty brown satchel in the other, kicking the door closed with her left foot; a pleased 'mraw' greeted her as her trotted towards her from the kitchen with his tail in the air merrily.

The exhausted blond was looking forwards to nothing more than to wile away an hour or two before dinner with a glass of strawberry milkshake, her current book and her favourite bubble bath.

First, she had groceries to put away, her answer machine to check and a demanding cat to feed...best start with Happy judging by the insistent head-butts and rubs against her legs before he decided to claw at her couch.

The bluish-grey domestic shorthair was stubborn and adamant about doing what he wanted.

Taking a fresh portion of mackerel out of the fridge that she had placed in there to defrost, her cat trilled happily as it was transferred to his bowl. Lucy then pressed the play button on her answer machine and listened to her messages as she put her shopping away.

There was a message from Jason that her article had been a-poo-ved (she groaned) for publication the next day and that Jane from payroll informed her she still had three days of paid holidays to use up before the start of the new financial year. The last message was from her cousin.

" _Hey Lucy! I know you're like suuuuper busy at work right now, but I'm at a super fun party tonight so I'll forget to ask later. I was wondering if you had any free days coming up? There's a new hiking trail at the National Park that I'm dying to try out, I read somewhere that hiking is like, a really good way to tone the thighs and butt and we both know we could use the exercise! Sooo...anyway, call me back asap when you get back, k? Love ya!"_

Lucy blinked at her answering machine for a long moment before she sighed. Another one of Michelle's latest 'exercise fads', she swore her cousin was trying a new faddy diet or exercise regime every week. Loosing count of every gym class, fitness retreat or holistic health spa that she'd been dragged to over the last two years, Lucy would at least be able to have fun on this one. It wasn't that the journalist hated exercise, she was in pretty good shape for a woman who loved pizza and full fat strawberry milkshakes; it was the thought of hiking miles with a woman who's longest diet and exercise regime had lasted a week before she was back to partying and heavy drinking.

So forgive her for the enthusiasm...all sarcasm intended.

Instead of entertaining the thought of exercise when she had just finished a nine-five shift at the Bugle, or calling her cousin back to confirm or deny her invitation...Lucy went to run herself a bubble bath.

* * *

_Two hours_ before...

Oracion National Park was widely considered to be one of the finest examples of absolutely pristine wilderness in the whole of Edolas. With it's lush pine forest, a crystal clear lake bordered by rocky, hilly cliffs; it offered a multitude of thrilling outdoorsy activities for the average thrill seeker. Camping, walking and hiking trails, kayaking and other water sports. Lucy had spent several hours going back and forth between either refusing the invitation, or accepting it; settling on the later of the two when Michelle promised they would stop at the local bakery downtown for some of Lucy's favourite chocolate doughnuts.

Even the weather seemed to be on her side.

A breezy summer wind was blowing through the Park, the sky clear and the top temperature forecast was twenty. Lucy was in high spirits as she pulled the zipper up on her baby blue windbreaker and double checked that her sturdy hiking boots were laced securely.

Michelle however was not as enthusiastic when Lucy had pointed out the incline of the hilly path that led hikers on a six mile trek round the beauty of the lake below.

"Urgh...what is that _smell_?"

"That's nature, Chelle...there's a whole big wide world there just waiting to be explored outside of the city." Lucy giggled teasingly to her grumbling cousin.

"Yeah...I mean I get that...but couldn't they have made the path a little more...flat?"

Michelle smoothed down a strand of hair that had fallen from her shoulder length light brown hair and whined at the thought of chipping her perfect manicure.

"Who's 'they'?" Lucy tried not to let her annoyance rise at her cousin already complaining, but the blond was actually looking forward to exploring the wilderness.

"Like...the National Guard or something...they should take care of stuff like this."

With a snort of amusement, Lucy bent over to pull on her black backpack and fastened the strap across her midriff. It was obvious that Michelle hadn't bothered to take notice of Lucy's suggestions about what to bring on their hike, luckily for her, the blond had packed enough for the both of them.

To compare, Lucy was in her comfiest thick yoga pants, a cotton t-shirt and a light raincoat in her favourite baby blue; comfy socks and a sturdy pair of hiking boots. She'd packed plenty of energy bars, a large canteen of water, several survival items along with a first aid kit (Lucy could be slightly clumsy at times) and even a compass and multi-tool in case her phone GPS lost signal.

Michelle had come in denim shorts, an off the shoulder top and a pair of strappy espadrilles...

So yeah...good thing Lucy liked to be prepared.

"'Chelle...the National Guard are soldiers, not gamekeepers." Lucy deadpanned.

"Oh..."

"Yep."

"Wow I guess you got the brains, I got the beauty." Michelle grinned.

"Guess all that partying is killing more than a few brain cells!" Lucy gave her cousin a cheeky grin and motioned for her cousin to follow her towards the trail they had picked, the blond completely missed the glare sent her way as Michelle followed.

The first part of the hike was a gentle hilly climb, no loose rocks underfoot but a well worn track through the edge of the forest with fellow hikers in front and behind them, some more seasoned walkers overtaking the two young women on several occasions. Michelle was mumbling after the fourth group overtook them. After an hour of trekking up a gentle incline and at the halfway point, several hikers wearing trail runners were turning back before the sign marked the next stage of the terrain; the cliff side path rising up around the large hill towards the back of the park, rockier and steeper ground made Lucy feel sorry for her cousins choice of attire and footwear.

"You sure you wanna continue? This stage of the trail is pretty rough but circles back to the carpark." Lucy made double sure that Michelle was up to the tougher challenge. "I'm pretty sure your shoes won't last –"

"I'm fine! Lets go..." Michelle snapped and stomped off along the path, causing Lucy to shake her head in disbelief...she had tried to warn her stubborn cousin...if she didn't want to listen to Lucy's concerns then that wasn't her problem. She would just have to keep a close watch on where they were walking.

Half an hour later and Michelle seemed much more cheerful that they weren't being overtaken every five minutes by more experienced hikers, even though she seemed to be stumbling every so often on loose rocks and gravel. The brunette was even striking up conversation as they passed through a grassy meadow and found a stunning view of the lake from the highest cliff face in the park surrounded by trees.

"Wow! Look at this place!" Lucy couldn't help but stand and look at the view, the breeze gently ruffling her hair as she took a deep breath in and out, the country air free of the pollution and smog of the capital city and the landscape untouched by the ugliness of high-rise buildings, gaudy neon lights and traffic. "Should have brought a picnic or something."

"Sure...like its pretty and all...but I'm a city girl at heart." Michelle sighed and walked forwards to stand next to Lucy.

"My Mom would love this." Lucy whispered quietly. Her cousin gave her a sad smile and patted her on the back.

"I'm sure she would..." Michelle smiled, Lucy smiled across to her cousin but her smile dropped when she saw the strange smile on the brunettes face.

"'Chelle?"

A strange sense of foreboding and unease settled in her stomach and she had the sudden urge to step away from the cliff edge.

"I guess its a good thing you packed some survival gear." Michelle chuckled.

"H-Huh?" Lucy stammered.

"You're going to need it where you are going, La-La Lucy." The brunette whispered darkly.

She felt the pressure of two manicured hands on her back pushing her roughly forwards towards the twenty foot drop off the cliff face far too quickly to try and grasp onto anything, the edge of the rocky terrain giving way under her feet. With a startled scream of terror, her stomach jolted as she plummeted towards the blue waters beneath her, Lucy felt tears pricking at her eyes from the wind, what the hell was happening?

"Oh my god, Lucy!" Michelle's anguished voice yelled out from above her.

But Lucy didn't hear her cousin yelling for her, the blonds' entire world turned black, no sound, no feeling and no colour.

* * *

_Back to the present..._

The volcano really hadn't looked that tough from a distance.

It wasn't until she had reached what she assumed was the base that she was beginning to wonder if her choice to explore was the right one.

Because Lucy was now convinced she wasn't dreaming.

The things she was experiencing were just too detailed to be another of her night-time wanderings, the smells, the scenery and the sheer rumbling of the slopes as she hiked up the steep sides of the volcano, far away from the lava flows and her destination a large cave thirty meters further up the side of the angry giant before her. It was dark, too hot and she was dehydrated from the hazy air.

She needed to rest, get some water and gain her bearings.

Lucy sighed in relief as she reached the plateau in front of the pitch black cave, unbuckled her backpack, the tired blond shrugging off the straps as she let it drop to the floor; unzipping her coat, she laid it on the floor and sat on it like a makeshift blanket.

Rummaging around in her pack for her canteen of water, she sighed happily as she found it and brought it to her dry lips and took a long gulp of cooling water, paying no mind to the two splashes of liquid that dripped onto her top.

A single large bolt of lightening crackled through the sky, illuminating the darkness in a blinding white light for a fraction of a millisecond.

The sound was similar to a thousand fireworks exploding at once as the fine hairs of her bare arms stood on end, electricity charging through her skin as she yelped in surprise. Lucy grimaced as a shiver travelled through her body after and she pulled her phone from her legging pocket to pull up her GPS display to try and figure out where she was.

"Shit..." Lucy mumbled, finding she had no signal to even pull up the app, let alone try to ascertain her current location.

Taking out her compass, her eyes widened to find the compass needle spinning back and forth, stopping on none of the four points, or those in-between. She took a calming breath as she felt herself begin to panic.

Just where the hell was she?

Lucy remembered taking a pleasant hike in the beautiful countryside with her cousin, Michelle...that was all she remembered.

Suddenly what sounded like a roar shattered the silence, the rumble of the erupting volcano had stopped suddenly. Lucy froze as still as a statue as the very ground beneath her began to shake as though several short but sharp earthquakes were happening in quick succession, the sky above her swirling with fire, thunder and heat as the feeling of deathly fear shook her entire body to the core.

She was being stalked...

Her head snapped behind her, long hair whipping her in the face as she suddenly dropped her water, there were extremely heavy footsteps coming from the cave. Had she unwittingly stumbled upon a terrifying monsters hidden lair?

Panic crawled through her as she locked her wide brown eyes onto a pair of almond shaped snake like black slits with a brownish orange tint to them swaying to and fro from the shadows, rocks on the ground shaking with the rumble of heavy footfall as the beast ambled closer. Lucy would have bolted, were she not half fearful and half fascinated to see what size of beast was to make so much noise.

The light from the flaming sky slowly outlined the large body of a muscled and powerful creature, as tall as a two storey house, with a slim but strong reptilian face, razor sharp teeth, claws and spines rattling along its ridged spine.

It had...wings...and a long tail.

"Yup...should have run away." Lucy whimpered, hiding her head in her hands, a fiery and hot breath rattled threateningly across the nape of her neck as she felt the creature reach the edge of the cave and lower its snout towards her as though it was about to tear her head off.

No matter how terrified she may have looked on the outside, Lucy was strangely calm and her heart beat steadily as she oddly found herself curious as to what this winged giant would do. Lucy must have inherited her mothers bravery, that was for sure.

Her ears pricked at the sound of heavy wings beating, slowly peaking through her fingertips and over her shoulder, before she squeaked at the startling black and amber snake like eye looking at her as though gazing through her very soul as it took a long sniff.

A warning growl from the beast shattered through the air and the blond tried to look as small as possible to show the creature that she was of no threat.

Nothing...

A pained howl suddenly broke through the air and Lucy had the sense to roll to the side and scramble away as the beasts strong front legs gave way underneath it, colliding with the ground with a heavy boom; rocks scattering away at the force of a dozen ton creature falling heavily to the floor. Lucy coughed from the cloud of dust that hit her in the face as she let her eyes wander over the injured creature.

It was a dragon...a real live dragon.

Lucy ignored every sense telling her to get far away from a beast that could easily move its head to clamp its powerful jaws around her and snap her like a twig, but she couldn't help the feeling that she had to help the poor dragon.

Curiosity killed the cat...as the saying went...

Quietly, Lucy made her way slowly towards the downed predator, sweat beaded on her forehead as heat radiated out of the dragon as red as blood.

It was as though its very scales were dancing with flame, as though merely touching it would scald her fingertips like boiling water. A powerful body with defined muscles showing in bulging arms and legs, ending in pure ivory razor sharp claws, Lucy made note to make no sudden movements. Its face was in pain, the cause seeming to be the oddly bent bone of the tip of his right wing, the leathery looking membrane connecting the tri boned wing torn in several places. Whitish pink messy fur sprouted along his ridged back was dotted with a bluish purple blood right down to the twin tipped fork of his tail; which was beating wildly against the ground like an agitated cat.

Happy did the same thing when Lucy forgot to buy him fresh fish.

The dragon, was a 'He'...she had an extremely strong sense of intuition and it was telling her that this magnificent creature was a male.

His underbelly was the same leathery hide of his wings, her eyes watched the thud of his forked tail made at it tapped aggressively against the rock by his back leg. The fur of his back seemed to be twinned with sharp barbs which were spiked up like an angry porcupine.

As Lucy crept closer, his serpentine eyes honed in on the blond human coming towards him with no hint of fear in her large brown eyes, only awe.

His scarred lip lifted to show razor sharp serrated teeth as he snarled warningly at the brave (or stupid) woman and she raised her hands to show that she wasn't armed.

"Easy there...I'm not going to hurt you...I just want to see how badly damaged your wing is." Lucy cooed, trying to placate the suspicious dragons anger.

Her foot took a step forwards, causing the dragon to suddenly roar and snap his fangs at her, inches from her surprised face. It was meant to be a show of power, threat and dominance, but Lucy only found herself grinning at him.

He was acting like a toddler who wasn't getting his way.

"That was naughty...how am I to help you if you bite my head off, Mr. Dragon?"

With a huff off annoyance at her quip through his large nostrils, Lucy yelped as a stream of super hot air hit her square in the chest, melting a large hole in her t-shirt; exposing a scandalous view of her buxom cleavage to the grumpy dragon.

"Pervert..." Lucy grumbled, raising her left hand to cover her chest, she shot a glare at the dragon and could have sworn there was a hint of amusement and satisfaction in unusually intelligent eyes.

With the very real chance of getting her head bitten off, Lucy once again moved slowly towards the resting beast, who was still watching her carefully; but now seemed to view her as nothing more than a curious insect buzzing around him.

She got to within a meter from his jaw, his eyes still watching her warily, body poised to strike if she made a single wrong move. Lucy was no fool, she was half a mind aware he could kill her at any moment, but the utterly stupid and reckless part of her was insisting on petting him.

How often did you get a chance to touch a real live dragon?

"Hi...you're absolutely beautiful." Lucy murmured in awe, the red beast flinched when he saw her right hand moving slowly, but without fear or trepidation. She let her hand slowly smooth over the dangerous barbs in his wild salmon mane of fur, trying not to coo in delight at how surprisingly soft it was, no knots or tangles to stop her.

The dragon made an annoyed huff and Lucy suddenly felt rough coil around her right ankle like a snake would constrict its prey, her world dropped out from under her and turned upside down as she found herself being dangled a few meters in the air, her foot gripped tightly in the coil of his tail.

She had a strange feeling that the dragon was testing her force of will, challenging her to back down and leave before he got annoyed with her presence and decided to end her entire existence with one quick chomp.

But Lucy wasn't backing down, she could be stubborn too, no matter if the magnificent and grumpy beast wanted to be left alone, he was injured, likely couldn't fly and she was set in her desire to help him to get better.

"Oi, put me down you silly lizard!"

With a startled scream, Lucy was swung back and forth, her head only a matter of inches away from the dragons open mouth; looking down into a gaping maw of darkness, a sharply forked tongue and a dual row of dagger like teeth, Lucy closed her eyes tightly.

"Okay! I-I'm sorry...okay?" Lucy squeaked.

All of a sudden, powerful jaws snapped shut and the dragon turned his head so his reptilian eye could regard her with a startling almost human level of intelligence.

' _Will you quit screaming if I do, blondie? If I wanted to kill you I would have snapped you in half the moment I smelt your confusing stench outside my cave.'_

Her eyes had snapped open in incredulity the moment she heard the annoyed but tough voice speaking to her in her mind. The dragon was not moving his mouth, but she knew that he was indeed speaking to her in a voice that sounded a little too young for his impressive stature.

"C-Confusing scent?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

' _You stink of human...but you also have a whiff of this world.'_

"And...where exactly is this...world?" Lucy tried not to scowl at the dragon insinuating that she stunk.

' _You are trespassing on the sacred lands of the Fire Dragon Clan, ruled by the wise and just Dragon Lord Igneel.'_

"Who?" Lucy tried to process what the dragon was telling her.

' _He's my Father...'_

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**Well thats chapter one, the next chapter introduces a certain pinkette and be warned...hes a bit of an asshole...for now! Chapter 2 should be up in a few weeks.**


	2. Chapter two

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|  | **Hello there! Sorry for the delay in posting but better late than never right? I'm glad people are intruiged by this story, its certainly different from my usual stories. Be warned, Natsu isn't a nice person at this moment in time, I hope I explain why enough without giving too much away too soon, this story starts as Natsu and Lucy not liking each other and will be a slower burn than my usual straight to the point smut. Hope you enjoy and the next chapter will be up soon! Don't forget to fave and review, I enjoy reading your theories!**  
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**Dragon Souls – Book 1 – Chapter two – The Second Son of Igneel**

To put it mildly, Natsu Dragneel was furious.

He'd been enjoying soaring high above the mountains, swooping and rolling through the volcanic ash cloud, the lightening tickling his spines as he snacked on the ash in the air...when a large superheated ball of fiery rock had slammed painfully into his wing; an anguished roar echoing across the sky as the cartilage of his bones snapped, tearing the membrane of his wing in several places and leaving him struggling to stay airborne.

The warrior was accustomed to pain, having been in many fights over his 25 years of age, both with his brother and his body guard's, but having his wing broken, was pretty much the same as having his arm broken and man did it hurt like a bitch.

As much as the young man enjoyed his dragon form and letting animalistic instincts take over as he took to the sky, soaring over the lands of the Dragneel Clan, capturing prey with a single breath of fire or a spear of his forked tail; he was much heavier and muscular in this body, unable to support his weight with only a single large wing. Luckily he was able to glide shakily to a nearby cave, an old remnant of a once mighty lava tube that exploded from the side of the mountain many eons ago, his secret escape when he wanted to run from his fathers scolding's or avoid his nagging about how it was time to settle down and find an Empress.

He loved and respected his small family, his Father was a great man, but he had no intention of doing so.

Powerful, but kind and just, loved by his people, his staff and his two sons; away from the public eye Igneel was a doting father who was mischievous, as laid back as you could get and spent every spare second he could in between ruling his realm to play with his boys and teach them all about the world.

Yes, the brothers had a wonderful early childhood full of adventure...but not everything had always been so great.

The youngest Prince had been just nine years old when the realms of the Dragon Lands had been suddenly thrust into war.

To the rest of the world, the Fire Lands were now a charred and desolate wilderness, a blight on the much less damaged, charming and mysterious lands that bordered the once beautiful nation.

Once so vividly full of life, the volcanic soil rich in nutrients where flowers and fruits of every exotic taste and variety grew proudly in valleys, forests and fields of wondrous colours, rivers meandered through the landscape and the folk who lived there were happy, well fed and proud of their beautiful kingdom.

Their Lord cared greatly about his subjects, from the smallest farm to the richest merchant who lived within the capital city, his care ensured even the poorest had at least a roof over their heads and food to feed their families, a steady job and a healthy family. His Empress, a sweet and beautiful woman by the name of Grandine, was the mother to his two boys. A healer by trade, she spent her days travelling to towns and villages with a small entourage of staff in search of those, rich or poor who needed medical aid. Both the Lord and his Empress were loved unconditionally for the peace and prosperity their rule brought the kingdom.

Life was indeed very good.

It was the surprise attack that came in the middle of the night one winters eve that would shatter this peace, a tyrannical Lord once banished from the Dragon Lands for his cruel and barbaric treatment of not only his enemies, but his own soldiers; Acnologia wanted revenge on the very Lord who had banished him, stripped him of his power and lands. He wanted Igneel to slowly suffer, as he had done, serving under him like a dog.

The tyrant had snuck into the castle and the Empress's chamber as she waited for her beloved to come to bed, where she had been brushing her long hair, when a cold and serrated blade had been pressed against her throat and she had been dragged to the throne room with her sons, being thrown to the ground in front of their surprised father.

Natsu would never forget the image of his kind and courageous father screaming out in anguish as his mother was cruelly slaughtered that day.

Igneel had pleaded with the tyrant to spare his boys, Acnologia demanding that the Lord get on his knees and beg like a mongrel.

When the man had hesitated for less than a second, the murderer had swung his blade again, greatly injuring his boys.

With no other way, he had bowed to him, his eyes flooded with tears as he held his sons, both screaming in pain, his oldest boy had been spared the sight of his mother meeting the cold stone floor with a sickening thud, slumped there lifelessly with blood pooling around her; but his youngest boy had seen everything, and that event had changed Natsu.

Being thrown from the castle, into a rickety shack to live with his sons, forced to serve as an officer of the army, earning barely enough to feed his children, let alone himself, Igneel took up a blacksmiths trade.

Forging basic weapons for the new Lord's soldiers.

The Fire Lands became the base of Acnologia's army, built into the side of the volcano to use the heat to fire his weapon factories, forests chopped down to build forts, defences and barracks for his growing forces. Ruling for twenty years over the separate Clans under the banner of a single ruler, from the frozen glaciers of the Frost Realm, to the turbulent skies of the Thunder Plains, Dragon Lord Acnologia wanted it all.

Forced to bow down under his rule, the former Lords watched as their kingdoms were pillaged, ravaged and all but destroyed in the spoils of war.

The Fire Lands, were sent spiralling into famine and poverty from his lack of concern for those who lived there, the crops wilted, the realm burned and the rivers had run dry; fields turned to dust and the sky darkened with constant volcanic eruptions. The people slowly starved, screams of anguish, children crying of hunger...while the Dragon Lord sat on his golden throne and commanded an army of soldiers who were too weak to challenge him.

Several desperate attempts were made to assassinate him, but Acnologia was too smart to fall for the usual methods, poison, hired assassins or the like.

Until one such overthrown Dragon Lord had rallied an uprising, Igneel, once known as the kind and wise leader of the people; he had an edge over the other men that they did not...

The tyrannical Lord trusted him, for Igneel had proven to be a strong General to his army, cunning in battle strategy and successful in his campaign to take hold of the throne of the last kingdom standing in the way of his absolute rule over the Dragon Lands; the Celestial Province.

The reclusive and mysterious realm in the heavens were little known to the worlds below, too high to reach by even dragons, few Lords had ever had the pleasure of an audience with it's Lord or even a chance to glance a look at the lands said to be made of pure starlight. With no children or an Empress to speak of, he was a no nonsense leader, a stern man and a childhood friend of a certain Fire Land's former Dragon Lord, the two had hatched a plan for his surrender; by the falling of his halberd from the heavens, right at Acnologia feet.

A fine weapon, crafted from the heart of a dying star, the legendary blade forged of the strongest metal, the finest gold; a prize not even the most powerful of Lords could resist holding in his hands. The very weapon that Igneel had been told would tear asunder any man not of Celestial origin who dared taint the pure blade with evil hands.

Acnologia's scream of rage as his soldiers simply stood and watched his body disintegrate into nothing but pure white light, erasing his entire existence from the Dragon Lands; had been told and retold in tales so often, passed down to the next generation that the story had become something of a legend.

Igneel had become a stoic and quiet man, heart broken from the murder of his beloved wife and the torture of his boys, a shadow of his former self over the years. He was fiercely protective of his remaining family, teaching them to fight and master their dragon forms from an early age. He himself had never transformed again...

When the Dragon Lands were once again split between the Lords or their offspring (some had defied the Lord Acnologia and had quickly met a brutal death for their treachery), peace was quickly restored to the Land and their efforts turned to rebuilding and repairing the realms.

Igneel returned to the throne, raising his two very different boys as best he could before they turned his red hair grey. He never re-married, the love of his life had been lost and he had no room in his heart for anyone else but his beloved boys.

Even if one of them in particular gave him a migraine most days...

Zeref was the smarter of the two, quiet and studious he relished in teachings, enchanted speaking books and battle strategy, a prim and proper young man who learned to heighten his remaining senses to compensate for being blind. Swift and quick with dual daggers, the dark haired brother enjoyed knocking his younger brother to the ground during training. He was all about his sense of duty, as the crown prince, Zeref was first in line for the throne, finding his Empress and becoming Dragon Lord after his father. He had been subdued in a thrilling tournament by the underdog, a tiny powerhouse of long blonde hair called Mavis, the Grand-Daughter of former Dragon Lord Makarov of the Thunder Plains who was also head of the Grand Council of Elders. It had been a quick contest, barely three days before the cunning blond had tricked Zeref's dragon into submission, earning her right to claim the Prince as hers, and she, his Empress. But, rather than taking the throne, Zeref and Mavis had chosen to wait to take over rule from Igneel, he was dearly loved by his people; such a quick change in Dragon Lord might cause a revolt.

Natsu was the warrior, hot headed and rambunctious, while he was not nice...he was kind, he had no desire to settle down and find an Empress, he spent his days between his rigorous training regime, pulling pranks on his family and castle staff, escaping from his boring lessons and study work and would shift into his dragon form and soar across the skies, visiting his friends and rivals in their respected lands, whether it was getting into fights with Ice Princess, son of the Frost Realm or being caught sneaking giggling girls into his castle bedroom every other night; Prince Natsu was a freedom loving young man who constantly argued with his father about not wanting to settle down at all and the trouble he frequently got into. He was perhaps a little over confident at his popularity with women and it was probably going to bite him in the ass one day, but he was just having fun. It wasn't as though he didn't treat them with respect, women were always throwing themselves at the handsome pink haired, muscled and tanned male, regardless of the scars that marked his face and torso from the tyrant Lord; we wasn't one to refuse a pretty woman...

Igneel knew his son had a kind heart, but chose to hide it behind a cocky and arrogant exterior that took no nonsense from anyone but his father; the boy needed some sense kicking into his thick skull sometimes!

With the pain of his broken wing still bothering him as it slowly healed, dragons were gifted with the ability to heal much more rapidly than normal folk, but he would still be stuck in his hideout for several hours while the bones grafted back together. He'd dozed off a few hours when his inner senses had picked up the scent of a trespasser; a woman.

How or why someone was walking into his fathers realm, Natsu didn't know; its not like the Fire Lands regularly received visitors, much of the country was still a burned and lifeless shell of it's former self, only the few remaining towns and villages held any life, crops or people; his home was slowly repairing itself.

Judging from her confused stagger through the landscape, the unfortunate woman was obviously lost.

As the intruder had gotten closer, his sensitive snout had picked up a strange but somehow familiar whiff of odour mixed in with the unmistakeable smell of a human. If that scent wasn't mixed in, his dragon would have immediately charged towards the trespasser and burned her to a crisp.

Humans were forbidden to set foot in this world, confined to their own dimension a millennia ago to prevent their further hunting of dragon kind. He knew very little of the human realm, only that they had multiplied and spread like a virus, polluting their air with strange contraptions and technologies unknown to the Dragon Lands, claiming every inch of land for themselves, cut down their forests, hunted most of their animals and were a greedy and selfish race.

Knowledge of the old ways and the like had been lost to them centuries ago; most had no belief in myths, magic or anything remotely supernatural, and Natsu preferred it that way.

The pathway between the two worlds had been severed, no longer able to live a peaceful co-existence, humans could not set foot over the boundary...so this human must be special indeed...had somehow found a loophole.

So, with it being increasingly obvious that he wasn't going to escape from his cave without being noticed by the human female, Natsu let loose a roar so loud that it shook the very ground beneath him and would terrify even the bravest of humankind.

His amber slits met those of deep chocolate, but to his utter confusion, there was no fear in her eyes.

Only curiosity.

The woman suddenly doubled over in an apparent display of submission to show that she was of no threat to him. His thoughts in Dragon-Form were hazy at best, so his sensitive ears didn't quite catch her babbling as his heavy footfall came to a stop at the edge of the cave. His dragon was curious as she peaked over her shoulder at him, her pretty face suddenly paled at his single right eye staring back at her, before she curled in on herself once again.

Strange little human...

Natsu could feel his vision blurring and his energy draining to the point that his entire body shook, so, with a howl of pain, the majestic dragon collapsed heavily to the floor; rocks and dust scattering under tons of powerful muscle, the human rolling out of the way at the last second to avoid being crushed.

He sensed the woman making her way towards him slowly, careful not to startle him as her gaze wandered over his body, eyes of dark amber took a good look over this curious woman.

She was extremely pretty for a human, Natsu noted. Fair creamy skin, average height, perhaps a tad too thin for his tastes, but her curvy hips and generous chest was more than enough to catch his interest. Long golden blond hair was tied up with a brightly coloured circle of fabric and her full lips were open in awe as she wandered his form. Chocolate brown eyes shone in wonder and her nose twitched at the scent of blood at his broken wing. Humans certainly wore some odd clothing...if the garish blue jacket, tight leggings and boots could be called odd. The high society females of Dragon-kin wore dresses of sumptuous fabrics, fabulous jewels and elegant hairstyles.

They were battle hardened warriors fighting for the chance to be claimed as Empress, or delicate ladies of the highest grace and poise; both revered for their beauty and power.

Sure, the blond was very beautiful, but Natsu had more than enough beautiful women throwing themselves at him to last him a lifetime, while he enjoyed flirting occasionally, he'd seldom taken his love life seriously, he rarely took a woman to bed to fuck her, contrary to what his old man believed; he just enjoyed the soft warmth of being wrapped in anothers arms as he slept.

He rarely slept while alone, plagued with horrific nighrmares of his mothers death.

Torn from his musing, his teeth bared in warning at the woman as she held up her hands to show she had no weapons.

"Easy there...I'm not going to hurt you...I just to see how badly damaged your wing is." The blonde tried calm him as she took a step forward suddenly and he reacted out of annoyance at her apparent lack of fear.

He was a terrifying and powerful dragon, He wasn't a youngling to be coddled and cooed over. So he snapped his fangs at her, barely missing her pretty face, it was an attempt to rattle her nerves but it apparently backfired on him.

She was grinning at him instead.

"That was naughty... how might I help you if you bite my head off, Mr. Dragon?"

He couldn't help let out a mental bark of laughter at her sassiness, so, to repay her smart mouth, Natsu retaliated by letting a stream of boiling air pass through his nostrils that hit her square in the chest, he exposed a view of her round and creamy breasts for his viewing pleasure.

"Pervert." The annoyed woman glared at him as she covered her chest with a small hand, it did little to cover the roundness of her chest but he wasn't complaining at the view.

He was probably being a little too hostile towards this strange woman, but he was tired, injured and extremely annoyed, she once again moved towards him as he lay exhausted before her. While it seemed this human actually wanted to try and help, even though he wanted it to leave him alone, Natsu watched her every move carefully, his inherent distrust of humans was still ingrained into his psyche, and it was unlikely to go away because one strange woman seemed not to be afraid of him. She also seemed intelligent for a human, aware he could strike at any moment if she made the wrong move, Making sure to tread carefully around him.

"Hi...you're absolutely beautiful." The awe and wonder in her voice were astounding to him, being raised on stories of the clashes between dragons and humans and their cruel and selfish nature, hunting dragon for sport and notoriety; maybe this woman was different?

On reflex, Natsu jolted warily as her delicate hand smoothed over the barbs on his mane, almost as though she were petting a skittish cat, he was half offended and half annoyed so he huffed, coiled his tail tightly around her ankle and lifted the surprised woman into the air.

Let's see if she was as brave or stupid when dangled upside down mere inches from an untimely death...

"Oi, put me down you silly lizard!"

Right, he was definitely offended now, so he relished in swinging her back and forth above his open mouth, silently indulging in maniacal laughter as she screamed above him.

"Okay... I'm sorry, okay?" Lucy squeaked.

His mouth snapped shut and Natsu turned his head to focus his gaze on her red face, no doubt she was getting dizzy from the sudden rush of blood to her head from dangling upside down.

' _Will you screaming if I do Blondie? If I wanted to kill you I would have snapped you in half the moment I smelt your confusing stench outside my cave.'_

As the blondes eyes quickly opened, she regarded him with surprise as though she wasn't quite sure he had actually spoken to her. The same instincts that told her he was a male, were also telling her that he did indeed speak to her in her mind.

"Confusing scent?" Lucy raised an eyebrow.

' _You stink of human but you also have a whiff of this world.'_

"And where exactly is this...world?" The blonde looked offended by his words but seemed to ignore them in favour of getting more answers as to her location, even if from a hostile source.

' _You are trespassing on the sacred lands of the Fire Dragon Clan, ruled by the wise and just dragon Lord Igneel.'_

"Who?" She looked thoroughly confused, her brain trying to process and just what Natsu was telling her.

' _He's my father...'_

"Oh." Was a simple reply, then she grinned. "Do I need to work on my curtsy?" She then gave a demonstration.

The dragon raised his brow bones wondering what an earth she was going on about, he had half a mind to have her thrown in the castle gaol or worse at her blatant disrespect for his fathers power.

' _Huh?'_

"Well since I'm not dreaming...I assume I'm here for a reason, I was hiking with my cousin through the forest, everything went black and now I'm standing on an erupting volcano next to a grumpy dragon with a shitty attitude...so forgive me for being a little tense right now!"

' _You aren't exactly a bucket of roses yourself, Blondie!'_ Natsu snapped.

The blonde held up a hand to silence him, the fingertips of other hand pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Lucy."

' _What?'_

"My name...it's Lucy."

' _Look Lenny, I don't care what your name is...I want to know what you're doing trespassing on sacred grounds, are you lost or you just plain stupid, human?'_

Lucy glared at the dragon haughtily.

"Wow...are you a perpetual asshole or do you do it just for fun?"

_'Excuse me? I could crush you right now between my fangs and I wouldn't even care...so watch what you're saying, Blondie_!' Natsu growled menacingly, two seconds away from –

"Look...I'm confused as hell, exhausted and I really wanna go home...if you aren't going to help me could you at least point me in the direction of somewhere I can find some decent food and a bed for the night? I can try and figure out what to do tomorrow, I'm very sorry to trespass but I have no idea how I even got here in the first place...I meant no disrespect." Lucy let her eyes drop to the floor, watery and threatening to spill tears down her rosy cheeks, her arms crossed around her waist as means of comforting herself.

The dragon felt his rage disappearing at the sight of the downtrodden blond and for a moment he felt sorry for her...maybe.

' _Well...it's not like I'm in any fit state to fly on these wings anytime soon, it'll take me a good half a day to heal in this form. How about this...you can stay here with me, in this cave. I can get a fire going and will keep an eye out while you get some rest. We can figure out what to do with you in the morning.'_

"This form?" Lucy enquired.

Natsu rolled his eyes as best he could and ignored her question in favour of lumbering heavily back into the cave.

' _Look...you can either accept my offer, or you can risk it out here, I don't care either way. It's clear you trust me no more than I you, but right now I'm too weak to bother arguing with ya.'_

"S-Sorry...just one more question?" Lucy shivered from the cold tone of his voice, were all of the people (or dragons) in this realm as welcoming? Because right now Lucy would prefer the company of her slimy old Senior Editor to this cold and rude dragon Prince.

She had honestly never met anyone who grated on her nerves and stoked her defensive and argumentative side than this man...dragon?

' _What is it?'_ Natsu snapped.

"W-What will happen to me if I can't find a way to get home...what if I have to stay here?" Lucy shivered, not wanting to imagine the possibilities of being stranded in such a barren and desolate place.

The dragon turned his head to regard her with a large amber slit eye.

' _I don't know why you're here, but you must have some form of connection to the Dragon Lands to even enter our realm...humans were banished centuries ago for slaying Dragon-kin. We don't trust or welcome your kind here, and you won't find a warm welcome. Your best bet is to meet with my Father, he should listen to your story and may know a way to send you back home. Until then...shut up and get some rest.'_

Lucy picked up her backpack, her throat clenched with a lump she found hard to swallow, terrified of the possibility of being in front of the Dragon Lord, what would he say to her?

With a breath from the dragon, a fire roared to life in the confines of the large cave, the injured beast wincing as his damaged wing dragged along the ground by his clawed feet. She quietly entered the cave and trudged sombrely to the far side of the fire, opposite of the curled up Prince.

She was about to sit down when his voice entered her mind once again.

' _Why are you so far away? This fire won't keep you warm, it's enchanted flame...it serves to heal my injuries. These lands reach freezing temperatures overnight, you would do better sleeping against me, I'm warm blooded.'_

Lucy mentally scoffed and thought privately that there was nothing warm about this dragon, but she sighed heavily and took his word for it, too exhausted to try and argue with him.

No words were exchanged as Natsu watched her settle down towards the lower end of his body, her knees tucking in against her chest and her arms folded around them, her brown eyes glazed over as she looked into the fire.

It wasn't long before the blond dozed off into a fitful and whimpering sleep, clearly uncomfortable to the foreign feeling of resting against his scaled body.

But when she awoke, come morning...the dragon who had allowed her to rest against him the night before...was gone.

As her brown eyes fluttered open, she sighed in bliss as she felt a pair of warm, muscled and strong male arms holding her tightly and two very male and tanned legs resting lazily against her own.

Lucy whipped her head around to find a pair of oddly familiar amber eyes gazing down at her with an odd look to them.

Oddly familiar _human_ eyes...belonging to a very naked human male.

Lucy screamed.

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**Oh my...just what is Lucy in for as she is taken to the capital to speak to Lord Igneel? See you soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there, slightly early with this chapter as I'm going to be busy with work for the next week or so and I have no idea when I'll be able to get the next chapter uploaded! Loving the great responses to this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Dragon Souls – Chapter three – The Prince's Bodyguards**

It was of sound logic that since the dragon could speak like a human (albeit in her mind) and that he could think like a human, logic would dictate he could become a human.

But all the logic in the world seemed to fail Lucy at the sight of the man who had been almost snuggling up to her as she slept. Her leg automatically swung into the side of the strangers head with a thwack and a loud groan of pain from the male as she scrambled away to the far side of the now extinguished fire, letting her wide brown eyes take in the form of a very much awake, completely butt naked and an incredibly handsome man.

His wild pink hair was tousled and unruly, spiked haphazardly in every direction with strands of salmon falling into his eyes, two thin braids tucked behind his ears, which were pointed slightly at the end. Amber eyes were glaring at her warily, his face smooth save for some morning stubble at his jawline, nose sharp and lips quirked in a smug smirk at her surprise at finding him there. There was a jagged pink scar across his right cheek but if anything, it added to his appeal, along with several more large scars dotted across his chiselled and finely honed muscles, six pack and the sculpted 'v' of his abdomen –

' _No...bad Lucy!'_

Her cheeks flushed and she quickly averted her eyes from the beautiful male Adonis in front of her and she quickly crawled towards her backpack, ignoring the scraping of dirt on her knees in favour of hunting for something useful to use as a weapon, against this cuddly intruder clad in nothing but his birthday suit. She noted in the back of her mind that her first aid kit and extending hiking stick was gone along with most of her granola bars, but this information was pushed aside as she found her hands grasping the familiar red multi-tool that was stored in one of her front pockets, shakily opening one of the many silver tools and holding it aloft in front of her; a corkscrew of all things, but it was pointy enough to...well...get her point across.

Whether the naked man was here to rob her or cuddle her to death, Lucy wouldn't go down without a fight!

With a raised eyebrow broken down the middle with another scar, the handsome male got to his feet, Lucy felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop open in surprise as his entire body was engulfed in flames, warming her body to an uncomfortable level for a few seconds until the flames disappeared and there now stood the man fully clothed.

Her brown eyes took notice of the broken fiberglass pole and bloody bandages at his feet, along with empty wrappers which once contained her snacks.

The male was now almost entirely dressed in black, a sleeveless and very tight woven tank top edged in gold spun thread, real gold thread by the way it gleamed; the top extended to mid neck and showed off his pectoral and abdominal muscles perfectly. The hem of the top tucked into a thick belt made of corded brown leather, finely and intricately woven with flames, white baggy pants sat at his hips and were tucked into black lace up boots with gold toe caps and buckles. Around his left bicep was a brown woven leather band, an intricate red tattoo of a family crest of a dragon breathing fire upon his upper right arm. Black wristbands and a single black studded dragon head piercing to his left earlobe completed the look.

"S-Stay back, I'm not afraid of you...you fiend!" Lucy exclaimed shakily, trying to appear taller and more imposing than her five foot six frame, the man in front of her wasn't more than a head taller, but he was obviously a warrior.

The pinkette folded his arms, raising his right hand and lighting his hand on fire, not seeming to mind the fire so close to his handsome face.

"I think we established last night that you aren't afraid of me, Blondie."

His voice was smoother and clearer to her than last night, the familiarity of it taking a few seconds to process in her mind as beautiful red fiery scales shimmered hazily across his face; left eye turning into the slit of a dragon. Her jaw dropped open comically as she finally figured him out.

"YOU! You're the asshole dragon!" Lucy pointed at him, the pinkette smirked darkly before her, the flames in his hand dying as he stalked menacingly towards her.

"That's being a little harsh considering you booted me in the head, since I'm in a pretty good mood for finding medical supplies and some food in that pack of yours I guess I won't roast your hair off." Natsu sniped at her glare.

Lucy realised that this man dragon must have turned human during the night and had an unwelcome nosy through her backpack!

"Excuse me! Those were _my_ supplies, who said you could use them?" Lucy shrieked.

Natsu grimaced at her volume and used a finger to dig into his ear before slowly towering over her, she might have swooned over his close proximity did his attitude not make her skin crawl, she tried to back up but he kept stepping into her personal space.

"Who do you think you are –" Lucy jabbed a finger into his solid chest to emphasise her point.

"Natsu Dragneel, second son of Dragon Lord Igneel, Prince of the Fire Lands." An amused smirk pulled at his lips, causing her expression to darken. "And you are?"

Lucy scowled and her cheeks burned...he may be a Prince, but he was still an asshole.

"Lucy of none of your damn business, Pinkie."

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In the early hours of the morning, the pains in Natsu's arm had become unbearable, having exhausted all of his energy to maintain his Dragon-Form, the second Prince had shifted back into his human form in order to ease the healing process. He had no doubt that his two bodyguards would soon find his location, their charge hardly ever stayed away for extended periods from the castle at Ignis.

His amber eyes had eventually fallen upon the blonds pack, and, not being able to help his natural curiosity slid it towards him; opening it after a moment and riffling through it as the blond slept in his arms.

Inside were several wrapped food items, a box which contained what looked like bandages and a vial of ointment of some kind, a rectangular black box with a shiny front he could see his reflection in that he had not a clue was for, among other odd and mysterious items. He found a container clipped to the side of the pack and after a few moments trying to figure out how to open it, found it to contain water. How the liquid was ice cold without the use of ice was a mystery but it quenched his dry throat so he didn't question it.

Humans were certainly resourceful if anything.

Natsu set to work dismantling a pole he found made of an odd lightweight material that extended to form a cane of some sort, it was sturdy enough to create a make shift splint for his broken bone, after tearing open and unravelling a roll of white gauze he managed to use his teeth to position the splint as he wrapped the bandage around his broken arm so it would set correctly in place come morning. Natsu tore open one of the food wrappers to find several oat snacks with what looked like dried fruits within, he grimaced as he took a bite (humans called this food?) but forced himself to chew and swallow the dry snack.

He has finished his third bar when his sensitive ears picked up on a sound, the scraping of boots on rock, his nostrils recognised the familiar scents of his two guards making their way towards him on foot as men.

Checking to see that Lucy was sound asleep, he focused his mind and allowed the dragon to speak to his brothers in his own tongue, something only Shifters could do.

' _Why are you here?'_

' _Prince Natsu, you're wounded. Who is the woman, she smells divine.'_

' _You are laying with a human? Did she attack you, Salamander?'_

' _No, she is not a threat. A rock hit my wing in dragon-flight and tore my wing and my arm is broken, can you return to Ignis and tell my father I am bringing the human to him? She seems to be connected to this world but I don't know how, I will try and get more information from the woman. She may be snappy and rude but no harm will befall her do I make myself clear?'_

' _If you were more polite and approachable and not a raging ass with other people, Salamander, she might treat you better...who insulted who first?'_

' _Get lost Lug-Nuts and take Gingerbread with ya...I've had enough shit to deal with today without you two starting.'_

' _And this is why you have no ladies of the Royal Court willing to become your Empress...your charming personality leaves much to be desired.'_

' _Lets leave him to sulk. See you back at the castle, Salamander.'_

Natsu out of reflex checked to see if the blond was still sleeping, not that she would have heard anything other than the fire crackling merrily before her. The Dragon-Shifters were communicating with one another via a low based hum, inaudible to the human ear, it was mostly used during hunting or mating by shifters to announce their location to one another.

He nodded his head even though Gajeel and Loke would not be able to see it, his ears honed in as the two men shifted into their Dragon-Form and set off into the night with a strong gust of wind that was enough to ruffle their hair and the fire. His eyelids began to droop as he looked into the flames, feeling its energy healing his bones slowly.

Best to get as much rest as possible, not that the tired Prince knew it, but he was about to get an extremely loud and painful awakening...

* * *

The enchanted flames had been extinguished long before they had left the cave that morning, Natsu simply beckoning her over his shoulder to follow him like an obedient dog; Lucy following hesitantly with a scowl on her face, backpack hastily being refilled and slung over one shoulder as he stalked off without her.

He tsked at her lingering with his arms crossed before he pointed to a valley just beyond the crest of the nearest hill.

The curious blond had a million questions still whizzing round in her mind, brown eyes curiously glancing at the handsome pinkette as he easily marched down the side of the mountain and towards the flatlands to the front of them. As Lucy took more notice of the ground, trees and valleys surrounding them, she began to see tiny shoots and stems of greenery sprouting from the dust and within the branches of the trees, even tiny streams of water could be seen meandering through the divots and channels in the landscape where lava once flowed.

"Ask your questions...I can tell you're curious." Natsu tried to keep the mockery out of his voice, taking his guards words to heart by trying to be more courteous; it was hard to do something that didn't come naturally to him due to his confrontational nature.

"What happened here?" Lucy asked carefully, choosing her wording as not to sound insensitive.

"War...years of it. With a tyrant Dragon Lord on the throne with a thirst for power and complete control, the Fire Lands were turned into his base, fortress and weapons forge. Fields were burnt, trees were felled and the sky scorched. Our people suffered and starved, my father, with help from an old friend eradicated Acnologia from this world, a trick, but we were desperate. The lands were returned to their Lords and we began to rebuild."

"And the lands are beginning to flourish once again." Lucy smiled, not at the sombre Prince, but at a single tiny white flower swaying in the breeze in the shade of a nearby tree.

Natsu was standing close enough that the same gust of wind caused a strand of her golden hair to lift and tickle his scarred cheek, his nostrils flared at the light and sweet scent and the beast inside him purred contently, causing the pinkette to shake his head and look away.

Where had that come from? The dragon had never purred before...

"I'd hardly say we flourish, after years of war we are merely surviving." Natsu grumbled at her optimism.

Lucy looked over at Natsu, not with pity...but understanding.

"Well your kingdom is obviously doing something right, it may not look like much now, but in five years or so these saplings will be rooted to the ground and as tall as you, these tiny blades of grass will become a lush carpet and these trickling brooks will become rivers once again."

The look the pinkette was giving her was unreadable, but he then surprised her by looking down at the green shoots beneath his boots with a small and genuine smile.

"What does your world look like?" He asked quietly, this time staying level with the blond as they walked.

"Crowded...there are still a few small towns but most live in large cities in tall buildings on top of one another. There are artificial lights and mechanical noise everywhere, I live in the largest city in Edolas, it's like living in a theme park without the rides...only everyone rushes about their day never saying hello to another. There money is more important than character and sense of self. It's very lonely." Lucy grimaced.

"What's a 'theme park'?" Natsu tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

He looked so adorable like that that Lucy suddenly found herself giggling uncontrollably, Natsu watched how expressive her face was, the wide smile and the tears rolling down her cheeks, he was quiet, stunned even. At first he thought there was something wrong with her, the red cheeks, shortness of breath...was she having a panic attack or something?

"W-What's wrong?" Lucy laughed at his blank expression.

"Are you sick?"

"No! Have you really never seen anyone laugh so hard it makes your sides hurt?"

He'd only wanted to know what a 'theme park' was, she didn't need to make fun of him for it...he'd never seen a woman erupt into a deep bellied laugh before, the women he'd been around were all quiet, graceful and dainty with elegance and poise, quite frankly, he found Lucy refreshing.

"You're a weirdo alright...the women I know don't laugh like that...and you never answered my question."

"Maybe the women you know don't find you very funny." Lucy grinned cheekily, whooping in triumph at getting one up on the aloof Prince, until he smirked at her and folded his arms.

"Does that mean you do?" His condescending expression caused her to frown, for a brief moment she thought she had gotten to see another side of him, but he was obviously mocking her.

"Actually no...I think you're rude, arrogant and a complete jerk...I don't know what happened to you to make you this way but there is nothing wrong with –"

Natsu snarled and got into Lucy's face, his eyes narrowing to slits at her surprised expression.

"Acnologia killed my mother in front of my very eyes...he blinded my older brother, scarred me for life and almost tore my Fathers heart into shreds! So excuse me for being a little difficult to get along with...life isn't all sunshine and rainbows Princess, I wasn't raised in a life of luxury and privilege, my father was forced to raise us in a tiny stone house with no windows, skipping meals to make sure we were fed, working long hours to make weapons that would kill his own people if they refused to submit. We were taught to survive and fight at an early age in a cruel world, even when we got our home back, we did everything we could to help the people, we sold our gold, exchanged our fine treasures for sacks of rice and grain...so tell me, how should a Prince behave in a world he's unsure is going to survive the winter?"

Lucy was taken aback at the anguish in his voice, ashamed of herself for her assumptions he was raised to have everything he ever wanted in life.

"I-I'm sorry I –"

"I don't need your pity." Natsu snapped, turning sharply on his heel to stalk off towards the clearing ahead of them.

"It's not pity, it's respect." Lucy whispered, her words causing him to stop in his tracks, before he turned his head to glance at her over his shoulder.

"Why? I've been nothing but an asshole to you..."

"Yeah, you've been a butt-head right from the get go...made a lousy first impression and an even worse second one. However I think I understand you a little better, you may not be nice but you're kind hearted." Lucy cleared her throat and ducked her head, sniffling quietly.

"I had the best mother in the world, she raised me by herself while working three jobs, we never had nice things, our house was a little shack we rented on a dirt track just outside of town, no heat, no electricity but we had food on the table. Mom spent years saving every spare penny she earned for my future, I miss her terribly. I worked hard to follow my dreams, becoming a writer, always remembering where I had come from to get where I am."

"To think we were raised to believe all humans were greedy, selfish people and had no care for the consequences of their actions. I guess not all humans are that bad."

Natsu might still be wary of the human race, the underlying distrust of their selfish need to claim themselves the superior species were what, ultimately, forged their banishment to another dimension. A small group of a few hundred humans who sided with the dragons had chosen to remain in the Dragon lands, some becoming trusted allies and protectors of the Dragons; in return they were gifted in return the ability to shift or to learn magic.

"Do you have humans here?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Yes, when the vast majority of humans were banished eons ago, some stayed behind. Dragons taught some of the early humans to shift, but those who stayed entirely human began to over time revere us as something like royalty, worshipping dragons as gods, who returned to live off the land in freedom. Mostly they keep to themselves, some are still afraid of humans but they are worshipped as they should be. This is their land, we have to respect and honour it, it's why we are so invested in it's restoration and rebirth."

"My mother mentioned a land being ruled by dragons in her stories, do you think she could have been here?"

"Who knows, if you wound up here then maybe she did too?"

"My mother was special, I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. She was beautiful, kind, men would constantly shower her with compliments and attention" Lucy then giggled, remembering something. "Layla wasn't just a pretty face, she was very clever, headstrong and confident...nothing got passed that woman!"

Natsu huffed in amusement as he turned a sardonic grin on the blond.

"Sounds like you turned out pretty much the same...only difference is you're sassier and nosy."

"Hey! Is it a crime to be curious?" Lucy demanded with her hands on her hips haughtily, tapping her foot impatiently at the pinkette.

"No...I'm just not used to a woman being so..." Natsu began but the glare he was on the receiving end of was nothing but downright terrifying, he thought only one woman he knew could give him a look so stern that his warm blood ran cold.

Apparently the great Erza Scarlet of the Knights of Valour, the most formidable woman in the Dragon lands, had some competition for scariest glare of death.

Natsu shuddered at the thought.

He thought very carefully about his next word...forceful? No that wasn't it...pushy? Nope, he didn't want another kick to the head, the blond may look delicate but she had one hell of a kick!"

"Condescending? Smart-mouthed?" Natsu waited for his impending doom but Lucy merely grinned evilly at him.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Scary woman." Natsu mumbled to himself.

"So...if you can turn into a human, why didn't you when we first met? Surely if humans are banished from these lands and haven't seen dragons in centuries, wouldn't showing your dragon form be a huge mistake?" Lucy asked curiously.

"I was wounded, my injuries don't hurt as much in dragon form as they do in my human form. Dragons run on only the basic of instincts, to hunt to feed and to mate and to defend their territories. You showed no fear or ill will towards me so I felt more inclined to stay a dragon, I was simply trying to get you to leave me alone."

"You could have just told me to get lost instead of dangling me upside down and burning a hole in my top..." Lucy moaned, crossing her arms angrily.

"I was having a bit of fun...anyway what would it matter if I had spoken to you from the start? I was and still am distrustful of humans and while you may be one of the few decent ones I'm not one to reveal all of my secrets to someone I've just met. You need to be prepared that if you linger too long in this world you will find others that wish harm upon you, dragon and Shifter alike who hate or are afraid on you." Natsu told her firmly.

"Then...why are you helping me? Why didn't you just –"

"As I told you, your scent confuses me, you seem to have a connection to this world and I can see by your curiosity that you want to know what that is."

"I've been misjudged and criticised by others for most of my life. Trust me, I can handle it."

Grumbling to himself at her naivety, Natsu stalked off towards the route to the capital, Ignis was a days walk on foot, but he would use up too much energy to shift into his dragon form and carry Lucy the rest of the way. If she thought for a second he was going to permit her to ride on his back like a obedient horse, she was sorely mistaken. The pair settled into a stony silence for what felt like hours as they passed forests, dusty plains and the like, the blond obviously occupied with the many thoughts now drifting around in her mind; to be honest, Natsu was enjoying the silence, her presence had become tolerable, but he could feel his dragon becoming attached to the beautiful blond and her cheeky but kind nature.

Lucy was eager to go to the capital of his homeland, but if his suspicions of just who she might be connected to, which his father would be able to confirm or deny, he was worried about the outcome and what it could do to her conviction about returning to Earthland.

There seemed to be a great deal of loneliness within her, she had briefly mentioned having a cousin back home but from the absence of any further information, Natsu surmised that they weren't close. The words that she spoke of her mother never telling her who she really was, or where she had come from, only added to the Princes suspicions.

Natsu didn't want to have to build up his defences against her, he fully believed she had appeared in his world quite by purpose, but if she did learn that she was half human and half from the Dragon lands, Lucy would be refuelled in her desire to learn everything she could from him, regardless of his willingness to cooperate to incessant questioning.

If Lucy learnt who he thought she might be, the powers and strength she could possess, she would want to remain here, Natsu didn't want to think what that would mean for him, considering he could feel his dragon wanting to stay close to her, to protect her.

And that terrified him.

So, steeling his resolve and keeping his distance, Natsu swore to keep Lucy as far away from his heart as he possibly could. Maybe he would allow himself to come to consider her a friend, but he flatly refused to even consider thinking of her becoming anything more than that.

His dragon was mocking him in the far reaches of his mind, telling him to pay attention to this woman, she was special, but Natsu simply shook his head and lead the silent Lucy across the dusty flatlands towards his home.

* * *

Several hours later and the two of them had reached a small lake, glowing red and orange in the shifting aurora of the fiery sky above them, Lucy had noticed the ground begin to soften underfoot from sporadically growing thickets of grass, even some leaves to be growing in the trees; they had even seen some small wildlife, mice, birds, rabbits and even a buck. Had Natsu been back at full strength he would have caught the deer with a spear of his dragons tail and prepared a large meal for them. After then pointing out some fish swimming in the lake, Lucy had promptly shrieked and quickly averted her eyes as Natsu's clothes magically vanished and the pinkette waded into the water to go fishing.

Instead of allowing herself to let her traitorous gaze linger on his muscular tanned shoulder blades and gloriously peachy ass the aloof man possessed, the blond scarpered off towards the trees to collect some rocks, sticks and something to spear the fish on to cook.

She hoped it wasn't trout...or eel...she really hated eels!

Her nerves rattled her out of her mental musings when a sudden clearing of a man's throat made her jump, Lucy turned to yell at the exhibitionistic Prince for sneaking up on her; when her eyes fell on the form of an entirely different male.

A tall, thin man around her age was stood grinning at her, with spiked orange hair to his crown, which turned into a bushy ponytail that fell to his shoulder blades, bright green eyes and he wore a black and gold suit of armour with shoulder guards, gauntlets and knee braces of sharp claws. A long black cape and a pair of daggers at each hip, this man was not built for power, like Natsu, but speed.

He was certainly good looking, with his charming grin, but Lucy could feel the familiar sensation of a cold shudder sliding down her back as his green eyes raked up and down her form.

"Hello beautiful...I knew you were exquisite when I first picked up your lovely scent."

Lucy scowled at the male stranger and tightened her hold on the largest rock in her hand, making sure to get a good grip to launch an attack should the need arise.

"I see the Prince has finally left his charge alone, I had to meet the most ravishing woman in the entire world!"

Lucy dropped the rest of her haul of sticks and stones and held up a hand to try and stop the advance of the flirty carrot-top before she drew back her arm ready to hurl the stone at his head.

"S-Stop! Don't you dare come any closer or I'll be forced to attack you!" Lucy stammered, trying to get rid of him by voice alone.

"Ooh...feisty too!" He grinned, walking himself forwards and the blond backwards into a nearby oak tree, she squeaked and darted sideways, but every time she stepped one way, the man would block her exit; she grimaced at the way his eyes roamed over her once again, widening as they settled on her ample chest.

"You don't need to do that, my love! I know Natsu has his charms but I can give you so much more than –"

The way the orange haired male spoke the Princes name with such familiarity had her thinking the two were at least acquaintances, maybe even friends, but as he stepped too close into her personal space, she decided to attack first...ask questions later.

Obviously, from the way the mans eyes widened, he didn't expect her to actually follow through with her threat, so the thud and sickening crunch to the side of his head caught him entirely by surprise, so much so that he immediately fell to his knees and slumped to the floor with a metallic clang from his armour ringing out into the forest.

She was about to whoop for joy at her victory when her defeated assailant suddenly groaned in pain and reached his hand out towards her, causing her to shriek in surprise and hit him once more for good measure; his eyes slid into the back of his head and he was finally unconscious.

"Wow...not only are you a complete slime ball...you also have a really hard skull!"

Upon hearing heavy footsteps behind her, Lucy turned sharply, pulling her arm back ready to strike another intruder when a familiar pinkette rounded the corner, topless save for his usual white pants and boots thankfully covering his lower half.

Natsu stopped dead in his tracks, holding four large silver fish by their tail ends in one hand, his eyes widening at the rock in Lucy's hand and the body of his second guard Loke who was slumped unmoving at the blonds feet.

Natsu groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What did Loke do to you?" From the pinkettes reaction, Lucy seemed to be correct in her assumption that they did indeed know each other and was very familiar with this behaviour to not automatically blame her for it.

"You know this sleaze ball?!" Lucy demanded.

"Yeah...he's one of my bodyguards...Loke."

Lucy froze, all the colour draining from her face as she dropped the rock and leant down to pat the injured male on the head in apology.

"He tried to hit on me, he wouldn't take no for an answer!"

Natsu could feel his dragon demanding that Natsu battle with Loke's golden dragon to claim Lucy as his, but the pinkette stamped that feeling down immediately, now wasn't the time for silly ideas like that...

"Geesh...remind me never to hit on you if that's how you react..."Natsu jested, he then paled when he realised what he'd just said. "N-Not that I ever would!"

"Don't get any ideas Pinkie!" Lucy huffed, offended at his words, she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air.

"Don't flatter yourself, Princess."

With that, Natsu began to gather some of the rock and stick collection that Lucy had gathered and then dropped, motioning for her to do the same and to follow him towards where they had decided to make camp.

"What do we do with Casanova here?" Lucy nudged Loke's hand with the toe of her boot before looking over at Natsu.

"Cassa-who? Just leave him there, he's woken up hungover in far stranger places, no doubt Gajeel is nearby to drag him to camp, I'm more interested in dinner than dragging his sorry ass around."

* * *

Lucy had a rather...interesting introduction to the two new members of their duo, now quartet.

Loke had been thoroughly enjoying poking fun at the scowling Prince about Lucy, who was sitting nearest the campfire to try and warm herself, not realising just how chilly the evening was going to be in her thin clothing.

Natsu had stalked off to his tent, returning a moment later to fling a blanket at her to stop her shivering, he couldn't see her glare as it landed on top of her head; giving the three males the impression that she was a ghost.

"Unfortunately, for some reason Gingernut here is loved by women of the royal court, he's an annoying pretty boy with a sweet tongue so women fawn all over him...he's too immature to realise when a woman genuinely isn't interested in him, so don't take his flirting personally, Bunny Girl."

Lucy, while finding Loke extremely forward and at times rather annoying, privately found the sardonic and dry humour of Prince Natsu's first bodyguard to be extremely entertaining.

Gajeel Redfox was almost the entire opposite of Loke in both appearance and character, with very long spiked black hair, blood red eyes and a build of powerful muscles, it was clear he was a warrior of brute strength. With as many metal piercings as weapons he kept hidden on his person, Natsu had joked 'Lug-Nuts' knew more ways to kill a person than had ever been invented, his wild and untamed appearance was matched with a stoic personality, he was the epitome of the 'strong and silent' type of male, with a few wise cracks thrown in for good measure.

Lucy had immediately warmed up to the scary male when he announced that watching her thwacking Loke on the side of the head with a rock, twice, was easily the best entertainment he'd had in months.

Loke was still sulking while quietly eating his fish, to the left of Natsu, who had taken to sitting nearby the blond in case his flirty guard tried to woo her again...his dragon still wanted to tear his limbs off for even touching the pretty blond.

His suspicions had been proven right when Loke had suddenly tossed aside his mostly eaten fish, gotten to his feet and bowed before the bewildered woman, who eyes him warily.

"My darling Lucy...please forgive my brutish behaviour –"

"Get up you idiot." Natsu groaned with a roll of his amber eyes.

"B-But, I must offer this delicate vision of feminine beauty my sincerest apology so I can profess my undying love for her!" Loke spoke with a dramatic flair.

"You mean the 'delicate vision' who knocked you unconscious with a rock?"

Natsu laughed at Gajeel's burn and turned to a confused Lucy, he could see from her expression she wasn't sure how to react to such a confession.

"Is he alright? I know I hit him rather hard but I don't think I did that much damage." Lucy side whispered to an amused Natsu.

"Nah...he's always been a bonehead...you probably helped to knock some sense into him."

Lucy giggled and tossed her finished meal into the fire to burn, along with the stick, she lifted her arms over her head and arched her back, yawning quietly; unaware of two pairs of eyes on her as she got to her feet.

"Well...if you don't mind, I'm going to get some rest."

Gajeel and Loke had set up several simple cloth tents not far from the campfire, one for each of their group.

"If I find you going five meters of my tent, Loke...I won't hesitate to give you matching lumps to the other side of your head!"

Gajeel guffawed while Loke let his mouth drop open comically at her threat, the three men watched as the blond disappeared into her bed for the evening, before they struck up a conversation about their plans for the remainder of their journey.

"So you never did confirm if you followed my orders." Natsu asked.

"We shifted and flew to Ignis to inform our Lord Igneel of your whereabouts, he was pleased you were only mildly injured but asked us to return and escort you home."

Natsu nodded in approval at Gajeel's words, glad his father hadn't sent a scolding at his reckless behaviour. So maybe he got a little close to an active volcano for comfort...he had paid the price for it, the Prince had been on the receiving end of far more lasting injuries in the past, the jagged scar on his cheek among many others littering his body.

"I'm twenty five...I don't need a babysitter like a youngling." Natsu grumbled.

"What do you plan to do with the girl if Lord Igneel doesn't know who she is?" Loke asked, showing a rare flash of the serious side of his personality.

Lucy couldn't help but listen in to their conversation as she lay in her simple roll up cot and thick woollen blanket, she tried to slow her racing heart to stop the nervousness that clawed through her body like a wild animal tearing into a carcass.

"Then she is to be returned home. She has a whole life ahead of her, a job, there must be people who miss her...she has no place in a cruel world such as this." Natsu whispered.

"Would she be okay with that? What if she wants to stay?" Gajeel asked.

Natsu sighed and tossed his fish bones into the spitting flames of the campfire. He wasn't sure what would happen if Lucy decided she was going to stay, it was difficult to relax around her as a man, when his dragon had rapidly become attached to her. He had to remain on his guard, had to stay aloof and indifferent around her, lest his human emotions get the better of him and allow his mind to fall down the same path as his dragon had. The blond beauty was noticeably more relaxed and content around his dragon, her soft hands calming his animalistic instincts, easier to please; his inner beast relished in her attention and care, sought to protect her and cherish her.

Almost as though it wanted to be tamed.

Natsu refused to allow it.

"What could possibly make her want to stay in this desolate place?"

Both Gajeel and Loke looked at the normally aloof Princes dazed and faraway expression and chuckled.

"If you haven't figured it out yet, then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought, Salamander."

* * *

**Well thats it for this chapter, please remember to tell me what you think, I love reading your comments! See you hopefully soon for chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what guys...I'm actually early with an update (for once!), I am still astounded people seem to really enjoy this story, I was reading the reviews and yes, I do realise that Natsu isn't making much sense, hes a walking bundle of contradictions at the moment, it will begin to make sense as the story progresses. It's a little like a Jekyll and Hyde situation, thats all I will say. Anyhoo, please don't forget to leave me a review, favorite and follow, it really makes me smile and makes me much more psyched about my stories, also in response to a PM I recieved from a worried reader of Makarov's Circus, I am not abandoning the story, I just need some time away to think how I want to continue it, if I forced myself to write now I wouldn't be giving it the focus it deserves, so I'm going to take a few months away and get the next chapter written at a slower pace, that way I can make sure I'm fully back in the zone with it. i still love that story, I'm just not feeling it right now, if that makes sense?
> 
> Without futher delay, heres chapter 4!

**Dragon Souls – Chapter 4 - Ignia and the Dragon Lord Igneel**

When Lucy awoke, it took her roughly two seconds to realise that she was not alone in her little canvas tent.

Legs entwined, chests pressed together intimately and arms entangled, she and a softly snoring Prince were lain together in a sprawl of limbs. Apparently she had kicked off her woollen blanket some time during the night, because the heat rolling off of his body was more than enough to cloak her in comfort and warmth.

He smelt of a wooden campfire and an odd mix of spices, which assumed came from the soap he used when bathing in the lake the evening before, it would have been enough to lure her back into the haze of sleep, were the blond not feeling extremely awkward at his closeness.

Lucy scowled and prodded him awake with a finger to his rock hard bicep, almost sorry to disturb the peaceful look on his handsome face, but she demanded an explanation to him intruding in her tent.

During an argument between Natsu and Loke the evening before when the ginger male refused the Prince his leftovers, Lucy had explicitly warned Loke to stay away from her tent during the night, the blond didn't think she would have to extend that warning to include the aloof pinkette.

Many methods of revenge floated through her mind.

Dragging his snoozing ass from the tent and dumping him in the lake?

Maybe that was a little too harsh...

Perhaps she could enlist Gajeel's help and swap Natsu from her tent into Loke's?

Maybe not, the dark haired bodyguard would probably tease her relentlessly about the Prince being in her tent in the first place; they already made fun of them for arguing like an old married couple, which then caused more arguing from them in return.

It was then that she suddenly remembered the black permanent marker in one of the side pockets of her backpack.

Simple but effective in expressing her annoyance, and getting back at him for being a snoozing cuddle monster, twice now, she might add...Lucy set to work on her master plan with an evil and mischievous grin on her face.

Pinkie wouldn't know what hit him!

* * *

Breakfast that morning consisted of wild hare that Gajeel had spotted lurking by the edge of camp, silently removing a throwing knife from his leather holster and letting it sail true through the air; a quick and deadly aim ensuring a swift end.

Lucy had been the first to awake, snickering when she took another look at her brilliant handiwork just an hour before, she had been laying awake for a good portion of time before she had detangled herself from the warm cuddle monster and exited the tent.

The fire had gone out several hours ago, from the look of the smouldering embers, wisps of smoke drifting hazily into the air. So, wanting to be useful, she set off into the forest to find more wood for the fire, the early dawn was still chilly so she would appreciate the warmth.

Half an hour had gone by before the glowing embers had caught enough of the sticks she had gathered to begin to feed the flames once again, her brown eyes glanced over at the third tent as a bleary eyed and bushy haired Gajeel emerged from his tent, red eyes landing on a awake Lucy as she smiled and wished him good morning.

"Did you get any sleep?" he asked gruffly, raising a hand to scratch his mess of dark hair, heavy footfalls getting louder as he made his way towards her, sitting on the opposite side of the fire.

"Apart from being attacked by the cuddle monster, I slept okay..." Lucy grumbled.

Gajeel raised a pierced eyebrow at her before he tilted his head back and guffawed loudly.

"He didn't..."

"Yep...I thought warning Loke was enough but apparently not."

"It's a habit...not sure the Prince would want me telling ya, but he's had trouble sleeping since what happened to his Mom. He's been sneaking girls into his room for years, Lord Igneel thinks he's been rubbing off on Loke...but in fact he just finds warmth and comfort in another woman's touch...don't tell him I told ya though or it'd ruin his reputation."

Lucy blinked several times as the weight of Gajeel's words settled within her, she suddenly felt guilty about being so annoyed with him, but that feeling soon vanished when her mind reminded her he was still a butthead.

She was quiet for a moment before she was saved from having to reply as the last two members of their rag tag group emerged from their tents, one to a chorus of good morning, orange spikey hair much more tamed and smoothed than Gajeel's, Loke looked alert and ready to greet the day.

The other one of the group emerged to a stony silence, pink hair a fuzzy mess and half of his outfit wonky, before Gajeel and Loke began to roar in laughter, much to the confusion of a pinkette Prince.

Lucy snorted ungracefully as she was once again met with her handiwork.

With a swirly black moustache, nose hairs and hilariously bushy eyebrows drawn on his face in thick black ink, he looked the picture of an idiot as he raised one of his eyebrows at the tears streaming down his friends faces.

"What the hell has gotten into you two?" Natsu grumbled, rubbing at his face with his hand, fingers coming away with smudges of darkness that had his eyes narrowing on the grinning blond sat to his left.

"You didn't..." Natsu muttered.

"I _did_." Lucy tittered behind her hand.

Stomping off towards the edge of the lake, the Prince looked at his expression in the water, his mouth dropping open comically in surprise for a moment before he glared at Lucy.

"Looks like the Prince has some competition for pulling pranks." Gajeel grinned at the blond.

Without a word, Natsu suddenly grinned evilly and shot towards Lucy, who had admittedly, been extremely naive in her confidence that the pinkette would not retaliate, she shrieked in protest as she was suddenly picked up, thrown over Natsu's shoulder and walked into the lake.

"D-Don't you dare!" Lucy swatted at his broad back, legs kicking in protest as the Prince waded in to the calm waters to his knees.

"Hope you can swim, Luigi." His light and amused tone distracted her enough to the point that she didn't realise what he was about to do, so when the sensation of being dropped caused her stomach to loop as she then hit the water, Lucy immediately grasped tightly onto his clothes and all but dragged him down with her.

There was a loud splash, Lucy felt the cold seeping in to her clothes, her hiking boots were waterproof thankfully but the rest of her clothing did nothing, her bun came undone under the calm and clear waters, her eyes opening beneath the surface to find a handsome prince using his rough hands to scrub at the ink on his face, while Lucy pulled a long golden strand of hair out of her right eye.

The two of them both surfaced with a gasp of air, Lucy took one look at a grinning Prince and burst into laughter.

"You missed a bit, idiot!" she giggled, pointing to the fake eyebrows still sitting above his amber eyes, one half smudged but still there.

"I wouldn't have missed anything if you hadn't doodled on my face!" Natsu argued back, the glint of amusement in his eyes giving away his false anger.

"You shouldn't have snuck into my tent and tried to cuddle me to death then!" Lucy choked with laughter, not angry in the slightest, she really hadn't laughed like this since her mother was still alive.

The blush and surprise on Natsu's face was extremely endearing but it disappeared within a moment as he stuck out his hand in offering.

"Truce?"

Lucy eyed him warily, thoroughly suspicious of his peace offering.

She reached out a hand warily, clasped her hand in his warm one and they shook amicably.

"Truce." Lucy smiled, her head turning to find the shore of the lake empty of Loke and Gajeel, she turned back to Natsu with an eyebrow raised.

"Where did they go?"

"I told them to go ahead to the village nearby and find something suitable for you to wear, there is still a half days walk to go and you can't do that in wet...clothes." Natsu grasped her wrist and helped tug her from the water, Lucy shivered slightly and the pinkette Prince turned to her with a frown.

"Can't you use your fire magic to dry me?" Lucy asked between unzipping her blue jacket to try and shake the water from them, missing the way her companions eyes widened at her sports bra and legging combo, she had discarded her ruined shirt a while back, her golden hair was much longer than it looked when piled messily on top of her head and now reached her lower back.

Natsu fought hard to subdue his dragon instincts as the pretty blond before him stood in revealing clothing, skin tight and showing off her curves, the leggings she was wearing were familiar enough in this world, but most women wore long tunics or dresses over them; the short black top she had on ended below her ample breasts and left little to his imagination.

He averted his greedy eyes towards the tents and covered his racing heartbeat with a cough.

"My fire would burn you to a crisp in an instant, you will gather unwanted attention dressed like...that." Natsu grumbled.

Lucy wrung out her hair but turned her eyes to him.

"This attire is normal in my world, we wear this stuff to exercise in." Lucy wasn't offended by his words, from the attire she had seen Natsu and his two bodyguards wearing, it was obvious the Dragon Lands had an old world feel to it, obviously not used to such form fitting clothing.

If she was going to be here a while then she certainly didn't want to offend anyone, especially with Natsu's words of warning about Edolas humans not being welcomed here.

"I see, it's strange how our two worlds differ from one another, what about everyday, special occasions?" Natsu sat down by the crackling fire, seemingly interested to know more about Earthland, he had seemed to put hostilities aside for now and was genuinely eager to learn more.

"Where I live everyone had expensive tastes, if you don't wear expensive clothing they look down on you. My cousin once dragged me to a gala and forced me into this hideous bright pink poufy ball gown...I looked like a walking marshmallow!" Lucy giggled, Natsu watched as she finished wringing the water from her golden hair and twisted it into a low bun at the nape of her neck.

"What's a marsh-mellow...sounds like a monster." Natsu asked in bewilderment.

Lucy would have made fun of him for his lack of knowledge but she reminded herself he knew very little about her world once again; she also happened to be much more receptive to this less aggravating version of him and wanted it to remain as long as possible.

"Its a type of sugary sweet, its formed into spongy shapes and has a light and fluffy texture." Lucy explained. "Do you have sweets here?"

Natsu seemed to understand her basic explanation and he grinned.

"Nothing like that, we have sugar but it's very expensive so most people have never tried sweet things, chocolate is a pretty common gift for special occasions." Natsu told her, Lucy listening with rapt attention. "Only once tried the stuff myself, I didn't really care for it as it was really bland."

Lucy thought for a moment, before she got to her feet, crouched into her tent and rummaged around for a moment, before she seemed to find what she was looking for and returned, holding a brightly coloured packet of something in her hand.

"In Edolas, chocolate is used in lots of desserts, cakes, bars, you can even drink it. This is a bar of chocolate with hazelnuts and raisins in." Lucy tore open the packet and broke off a square piece of the brown confection and handed it to Natsu, he sniffed it warily, before popping it in his mouth.

Lucy giggled and she too ate a piece as his eyes went wide and he moaned happily.

Several flavours hit him all at once, chocolate, but with a hint of salt, then the nuttiness and finally the sweet fruitiness of the raisins. The piece melted immediately on his tongue and he was left longing for more of the delicious bar of goodies.

"Man...I thought our food was pretty damn good...people would pay damn good money for that." Natsu grinned, causing Lucy to giggle at the chocolate coating his fanged teeth.

"I'm a sucker for sweets...my favourite is a ring of dough that's fried in oil and –"

"Do you mean oil cakes? We have those here...they are dough rolled into balls and fried in oil, then drizzled in syrup." Natsu grinned, seemingly happy to have found something in common between their two very different worlds.

"Very similar concept...in Edolas a hole is cut into the center to stop the dough from going greasy, they are dusted in sugar, chocolate and all sorts of things...we call them Donuts."

"Do you put nuts in everything?" Natsu grimaced, causing Lucy to chuckle.

"There are no nuts in them, silly."

Natsu looked confused again but decided not to ask any more questions lest his brain want to explode in confusion. The pair settled into a comfortable silence for the next hour or so, the Prince went off to swim in the lake while Lucy tended to the fire, completely lost in her thoughts of Edolas.

She really had no idea how time worked between here and her own world, her body clock didn't feel much different, she seemed to be hungry more often and didn't sleep as much as she normally did, but she thought that was to do with all of their travelling. The thoughts of her cat Happy drifted into her mind, hoping that he was okay and that Michelle was feeding him at least.

"What's eating ya?" came a gruff voice from behind her, Lucy turned to find Gajeel staring down at her with his muscled arms crossed, a bundle of navy blue fabric draped over one arm.

"Does time run differently here compared to Edolas?" Lucy asked quietly, worry gnawing in her gut about her cat being alone and scared, wondering when or if his owner would be coming home.

"Yes, time here moves much faster. While you have been here a few days, back home you have only been gone a few hours." Gajeel explained. "Have someone you're worried about?"

"My cat." Lucy sighed. "He's friendly and follows me everywhere but he's also an explorer and is forever escaping so I think he could survive on his own if he got out, but –"

"He wouldn't happen to be a greyish blue with a patch of white on his chest and tail?" Gajeel asked suddenly, a pierced brow raised in confusion.

What an odd question...

"Y-Yes...how do you know that?" Lucy stammered, completely bewildered and thoroughly perplexed how this man she had met just the day before knew about her beloved kitty.

A look of understanding dawned on the man and he turned to Loke and called him over, leaning towards him and giving him a look. No words were exchanged, but Lucy could somehow tell the two men were speaking to one another, their mouths didn't open once, but Lucy could swear her ears picked up what sounded like whispers on the wind, as though the trees were speaking to her.

Eventually, Gajeel turned back to Lucy and grinned, Loke marched off towards his tent as though looking for something.

"We've been trying to figure out why a friendly little fella has been following us all the way from the volcano and lava fields, we thought he was a stray begging for table scraps so Gingernut and I have been saving him leftovers after mealtimes."

"Oh! So that's why you didn't let me have the rest of the tuna last night?" Natsu popped up out of nowhere from his swim, glorious body wet and glistening from the lake water and Lucy would have yelled at him to put some damn clothing on were she not extremely befuddled as of this exact moment.

"What's his name?"

Startled brown eyes widened when Loke emerged from his tent holding a ball of snoozing blue-grey fur that looked extremely familiar, with the way his ears twitched in his sleep, to the tail curled up by his nose. How on earth in the two worlds had her mischievous cat managed to get into this world and followed them without her even having a clue?

"Happy?" Lucy asked, tears springing to her eyes, a single tear sliding down her left cheek as a single eye opened sleepily at her, a happy purr began to rumble through him and the domestic shorthair meowed happily, obviously glad to see his owner, but not wanting to move from his warm perch in Loke's arms, he simply snuggled further into his warmth.

"You named your cat 'Happy'?" Gajeel asked sarcastically.

Natsu stepped forwards to scratch a now awake cat behind the ear, something the adorable bundle of fur loved, from the head butt he gave the pinkettes hand.

"Says the guy who named his male cat Panther-Lily."

Lucy smiled in glee at the red tint to the cheeks of the black haired bodyguard, but she still had a few more questions for the two men, so she quickly turned her attention to them.

"Where did you find him? Happy was at home when I was transported here, so how did he get here?" Lucy questioned. "I still don't know how I came to be here, let alone how my cat got here!"

Natsu turned to her and placed a hand on his hip, his other resting on his chin.

"Dunno, you're here for a reason...either someone sent you both from your side of the veil or someone from this world brought you over. Until we get to Ignis, try not to worry about it." Natsu spoke, then pointed to the bundle of navy fabric in Gajeel's arms. "The dress is for you by the way, and like I said...my Dad should have some answers on why you're here."

"Thanks." Lucy smiled at Natsu gratefully, surprised when his lips quirked into a smirk and he nodded simply, the first in any form of kindness or affection she had received from the stoic Prince.

Was he starting to warm up to her, finally? She knew they certainly weren't going to be friends anytime soon, from the air of detachment he gave off towards her; but she had the strange feeling that he was holding something back from her on purpose...what that was, she had no idea.

She was brought out of her mental musing when she realised that she was being spoken to.

"-we were hunting for the Prince after he failed to come home after an argument with his Father, Happy had been trying to catch some fish in a nearby brook, Gajeel has a soft spot for cats so we had to stop and say hello, of course! The little guy let us pet him and we caught him a small fish and carried on our way. He seemed to follow us until we shifted into our Dragon-Form and flew back to Ignis. When we got back he showed up again, I'm surprised our Prince didn't spot him following you."

Natsu glared at Loke and growled menacingly.

"I was injured and had _her_ gabbing in my ear every five minutes..." Natsu complained, jabbing a thumb sideways, gesturing towards an offended Lucy.

"Excuse me for being curious and a little uneasy about following a bonehead with the manners of a caveman and no sense of how to behave in polite society." Lucy shot back sarcastically, causing Loke and Gajeel to snort in laughter, causing Natsu to glare at them.

With that, the blond huffed and stomped off towards her tent, head held high as she went, an air of confidence and command that wouldn't look out of place in a royal court; something that seemed to come extremely naturally to her and something which surprised the three men. Natsu found himself impressed at her graceful gait, until the beautiful blond did not notice where she was walking.

The men then watched her go and trip over a rock, her body wobbling, an almighty shriek as she went rolling head over heels into her tent with a crash. There was a moment of silence until a stern voice boomed at them, causing the Dragon Shifters to shudder in terror.

"NOT A DAMN WORD!" came her shrill and muffled voice from the entanglement of her woollen blanket.

Loke scarpered like a skittish cat, holding a snoozing Happy in his arms and a look of blind fright on his handsome face; while Gajeel and Natsu simply stood there, mouths comically gaped open.

Gajeel then chuckled and patted the pinkette roughly on the shoulder.

"She sure is a firecracker...beautiful and terrifying, you'd be a damn fool letting that one go, Salamander."

Natsu felt his dragon roaring in agreement, demanding he march into her tent and claim her immediately.

As his two best friends went about their business in packing up their simple campsite, Gajeel quietly working on dismantling both his own and Natsu's tent in record time (Loke was having fun chasing Happy as he ran off with a length of string used to secure the tent to the ground), he simply stared absentmindedly as the blond eventually emerged from the small confines of her own shelter, long golden locks now dried and tousled in a lovely way from trying to wrestle herself into her dress in a small space.

The navy dress had a simple Bardot neckline, clinging to her ample chest tastefully, sleeves sitting loosely off her shoulders, fitted tightly to her elbows and then flared out to her wrists, two slits in either sleeve allowed ease of movement, the skirt was a simple A line, secured with a gold braided belt she had tied in a bow around her waist. Gold trim outlined her neckline, bottom of the sleeves and the hem of the dress, it was a simple dress, but she looked absolutely lovely in it.

Lucy blushed as she received whistles from Loke and a smiling Gajeel, her pretty brown eyes flickering over to Natsu; finding his mouth open and his expression one of awe.

Where she found the courage from, to walk up to him, raise a finger to his chin and close his mouth; she had no idea, but she smiled at his expression, holding the sides of the skirt as she twirled before him.

"Do I look okay?" she asked quietly.

Natsu tried desperately to stop the next three words from tumbling out of his mouth, but he seemed to be fighting a loosing battle as his eyes greedily raked over her lithe body, marvelling how such a plain dress could look so incredible on her.

"You look beautiful." His voice was rough and husky as he took a step towards her, looking down at her, lips so close to her own that they could feel their breath mingling; her cheeks pinked as he lifted a hand to tuck a lock of golden hair behind her ear, his amber eyes darting down to her parted lips as a sigh escaped them.

Suddenly the shocked Prince reared back, as though burned, and gave her a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head, pointing towards her tent.

"Hurry up and pack...we have to leave now in order to arrive in Ignis before nightfall."

Lucy was left breathless and confused as to what the hell had just happened, Natsu had scarpered off to help his bodyguards, leaving the blond to her own devices.

Had she done something wrong?

* * *

Ignis was a city of contrasts.

The heavily fortified walls surrounding the city were easily forty feet high, looked impossibly smooth and unscaleable, ten or twenty meters thick in some places. Considering it was meant to keep their enemies out, it was easy to see why the city defences were so formidable.

Lucy had looked on in awe as their group had been allowed immediate passage, Natsu announcing his arrival to the heavily armed guards at the gates, thick iron slabs swinging open with a shriek of metal on hinges as thick as a dragons head.

Inside the city walls, however was another story entirely.

Simple wooden and stone homes, shops and taverns lined the cobbled streets, flowers and trees of stunning variety lined acres of green spaces set aside for farming, cattle grazing and parkland. Children playing happily, adults chatting to one another, market traders offering fresh fruits, vegetables and various meats in exchange for fair prices or being traded for other useful wares and services.

Ignis was a small city, compared to the capital in Edolas, barely ten miles across, but it was a wonderful place, full of life and laughter; Lucy could see the work that Lord Igneel had put in to the restoration of the capital of the Fire Lands.

Natsu had been strangely quiet for the last several hours, much to the confusion of his two bodyguards and the pretty blond; but as soon as he passed through the city walls of Ignis?

It was like the pinkette had become a different person entirely.

Random people in the street stopped to call out a friendly _'Hello!'_ or _'Welcome home, Prince Natsu!'_ to which the normally stony faced male smiled kindly and thanked everyone who welcomed him, it was though the very heart of the city gave him life, being out here with his people; almost as though he forgot about his duties as a member of the royal household.

It wasn't long before Lucy noticed that she was attracting attention as she walked behind the handsome Prince, caged in behind by Gajeel and Loke. It wasn't a bad attention, from the kind smiles, whispered compliments and welcomes, it seemed to be the very opposite of bad.

Perhaps it was because she was dressed in clothing from this world? Or perhaps they were being kind simply because she was in the presence of the second Prince?

The streets eventually opened out into a gated courtyard, beyond more defensive walls, Lucy gasped as she finally laid her eyes upon the castle.

Like something out of a Fairy-tale, her jaw dropped open at the small, but beautiful dark granite turrets, a grand hall off to the left of the steps leading up to the imposing wooden doors, intricately carved with the same dragon and fire emblem that Natsu wore on his right shoulder. Carved columns lined either side of the grand atrium, as she was lead through the castle entrance, rich tapestries depicting battles passed and scenes of peace hung either side of a grand stone staircase that spiralled the hexagonal chamber. A stout looking man came to greet the party of four, bowing before Natsu and welcoming him home.

"Dragon Lord Igneel requests your and the ladies presence in the Throne Room at once, your Highness."

Natsu nodded and two men opened the set of doors to the left, opening up into a vast and brightly lit chamber the size of a football pitch, floor to ceiling arched windows letting in the red glow from the fiery sky above, casting a pinkish hue upon the lime washed walls, also draped with sumptuous fabrics bearing the Dragneel family crest, the floor was a network of expertly laid flagstones of various taupe's, brown and black, giving the large room some much needed warmth and life.

It was odd how such a vast stone castle could feel so homely, but it did.

Lucy was tapped on the shoulder as she was lead slowly across the room, to a platform with stone steps leading up to it.

Lucy looked across to find Gajeel gazing at her.

"Lord Igneel is pretty chill about informality, but the stiffs known as his head of staff insist newcomers address him as 'My Lord', speak only when spoken to and be polite and courteous at all times...not saying it is necessary but it keeps them quiet."

Lucy nodded and found herself swallowing a lump in her throat.

The Dragon Lord was sat in a golden throne, not as ornate or expensive as she was expecting, but he looked extremely imposing in all of his finely crafted armour and weapons, extremely handsome, it was easy to see where Natsu got his looks. His hair was long and spiked, a deep red and pulled into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck, his eyes held a hint of mischief in their matching amber hues, a jagged scar across his right eye and an x shaped scar below it on his right cheek.

Lucy found her eyes widening as Natsu stopped before his father, bowed in respect...

And then grinned, rushing towards the elder male, who jumped out of his throne and wrapped his thick muscled arms around his youngest boy, laughing and raising a gloved hand to ruffle his pink hair.

Lucy gave Gajeel an incredulous look, but he simply grinned at her, this behaviour between father and son completely normal, apparently.

"Good to have you back, my boy!" Igneel boomed in a warm and deep voice, making Lucy feel slightly less terrified of being treated unkindly by the Dragon Lord. "Word of advice...while flying in Dragon-Form is exhilarating...do not fly close to an actively erupting volcano...Lug-nuts and Lion-boy gave me a damn heart attack when they showed up and told me you'd been struck down outside of the lava fields."

Lucy couldn't help the snort of laughter escape from her mouth, the use of nicknames seemed a family trait, she blushed a fierce red as four sets of eyes turned to look at her curiously, she gulped audibly.

Her eyes settled on that of Lord Igneel and she watched as his curious expression morphed from surprised, and then, sadness.

Natsu stepped forwards and gestured a hand towards Lucy.

"This is she."

Igneel simply stood awestruck for several moments before he uttered a single word that brought sadness and a pang of longing to Lucy's heart.

"L-Layla?"

From the pounding happening in her heart, the blond had the very real feeling that her suspicions had been right...her mother had been here before, or at least had known Igneel personally, and she had a million questions whizzing round in her head at once.

"I-'m Lucy, My Lord...Layla was my mother."

The Lord's eyes widened in shock as her shaky words washed over him, he turned with a heavy sigh, before sitting back down in his throne. Igneel leaned to one side, resting his chin on one hand, he gazed contemplatively at the quiet blond.

"I'd made myself ready to refute my son's claim of who you might be, thought the theory impossible. But gazing at you now, the perfect mixture of Jude and Layla...it seems as though the rumours were true." Igneel sighed. "Did your mother ever tell you of your father?"

Lucy shook her head, the name 'Jude' meant nothing to her, but she was eager to find out what sort of a man left his wife alone and pregnant with his child.

"Nothing...I asked of course but she simply smiled sadly and shook her head...it seemed to make her upset, so I stopped asking." Lucy frowned.

Natsu was confused, having met his fathers oldest friend a few times as a young boy, he had seemed a decent man, perhaps stern and cold, but he treated his friends sons with care and respect.

"I thought Jude didn't have any heirs?" Natsu asked, causing Lucy to turn to him.

"Y-You've met him?!"

Igneel held up a hand before Natsu could reply, requesting their silence as he spoke.

"Jude had no... _legitimate_...heirs." Igneel replied, causing Lucy to gasp.

She was born from an affair?

"You said ' _Heir'_...what do you mean by that?" Lucy asked, the sinking feeling of just what Igneel was alluding to causing her stomach to loop uncomfortably.

The Dragon Lord steepled his fingers together, gazing over at the confused blond, not unkindly, but eager to see what she would do with the information she was about to receive.

"Jude Heartfilia, is the former Dragon Lord who ruled over the sky lands of the Celestial Plains, the realm is a mystery to most our people, for few have been there. Jude is my oldest friend, when we were almost full grown, around twenty, Jude fell in love with a maid from the royal household, who would bring him his morning coffee and bowl of porridge. They would chat and get to know one another, Jude hated that she was so thin, so he used to request more food and they would sit and eat it together. His father disapproved of their relationship, so they met in secret. When your grandfather retired, there were rumours that Jude had gotten an ultimatum from the him...Layla was to be banished from the Dragon Lands in order for Jude to take his place as Dragon Lord. Feeling he had no choice, he accepted." Igneel explained, feeing sorrowful for the tears streaming down the pretty blonds cheeks.

"Jude didn't know my Mom was pregnant...did he?" Lucy whispered, sorrow eating at her as she wiped away the tears.

Natsu could feel his dragon cooing softly to the beautiful woman, in attempt to try and ease her heartache. He couldn't help the hand he placed on her shoulder in an attempt to show solidarity for her sadness. Lucy appreciated the gesture, giving the Prince a watery smile.

"No...Jude had no idea. He had wanted to take Layla as his Empress, but because of her status as a maid, the Council refused her entry to the Phoenix Tournament. In order to keep the bloodlines of purest nobility, only ladies of the court may enter to win a future Dragon Lord, I met Layla on several occasions and she was more than worthy of becoming his Empress, beautiful, strong willed and kind, no Dragon Lord could hope to have the honour of such a Phoenix to rule beside him." Igneel spoke kindly, smiling at Layla's daughter.

"Is...is he still alive?" Lucy asked, wary to find out she had lost another parent, this one without ever having met.

"Yes...but he is far passed the age of a normal Dragon Lord, his sight is failing him but he has always refused to take another as his Empress. His throne was passed down to the son of the Royal Priest, Jude now sits atop the third pillar of the Council of Elders in the Thunder Plains."

So she was no longer in line for any throne, not that she even knew she would be eligible, being born out of wedlock. The idea of ruling a kingdom in a world she barely knew terrified her, so she was almost glad.

"Would he even want to meet me?" Lucy asked, her eyes drifting over to gaze into Igneel's. "I was technically born in the human realm, was raised there. I know nothing of this world, Natsu told me that humans are hated and even feared in the Dragon Lands..."

"While I agree that the Dragon Gods and their charges are wary of humans, I can't say everyone shall hate you, you seem a kind and smart woman and so understand our past. I can't say for sure how Jude will greet the news of your existence, perhaps I can contact him in private to ascertain his reaction instead of having you just...show up unannounced." Igneel hoped that his old friend would be open to the idea that he had in fact, a long lost daughter...but the years spent alone had not been kind to him, he was a stern man who took no nonsense from anyone...grief was a powerful and cruel thing.

Lucy thought for a moment before she nodded gratefully.

"At this point, I have nothing to loose...I've never known the man. It would be nice if he would like to try and form a relationship with me, but I would understand if he prefer not to." Lucy replied, holding her head high, despite the sorrow and tears lining her eyes at the tale of her parents harrowing story. "I can't imagine news of his love's passing would be an easy thing to hear."

"As I understand, you have more questions for me, but you have had enough to process for tonight, we shall talk again tomorrow morning over a breakfast to welcome you to our small kingdom." Igneel then clapped his hands twice, a door to the left of the throne opened up swiftly and a young woman and a teenager came hurrying out, one with pretty azure blue hair and the other a long purple, both dressed in pretty but simple dresses, one of orange, one of a periwinkle blue, both had aprons on and bowed before their Lord.

"Levy, Wendy, would you please set up a suitable room for Miss Lucy to stay in? She will be with us for a while and we shall make her stay as comfortable as possible, she will be under your care for whoever long she stays."

The two bowed once again, Lucy raised an eyebrow and smiled kindly when the two girls smiled at her in welcome, the bluenette then shot a cheeky wink at Gajeel, who grinned and shot a wink back.

Ok...there was definitely something going on there, Lucy chuckled mentally, eager to get some gossip. The blond then gave Igneel a grateful smile and made to follow after the two girls.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay, My Lord." Lucy curtseyed perfectly, much to Natsu's surprise.

"Oh...so you can be a polite and proper lady when you choose to be, huh?" He teased with his hands on his hips, one eyebrow raised.

"Yep...by the way...you still have a little ink up your nose." Lucy smiled sickeningly sweetly as she was led away by a pair of giggling maids a blue-grey cat trotting off after them happily, his tail twitching in excitement.

"She brought a cat?" Igneel asked, giving the three men a bewildered look.

"No idea how her cat got here, we're as confused as she is...he followed us from the lave fields." Natsu grumbled, rubbing his hand against his nostrils, indeed finding yet more damn ink there...he really had to get her back for that one...

Igneel gave his son with an amused look, quickly noticing the chemistry between the second Prince and the young beauty.

"Dare I ask why you have ink up your nose, my boy?" Igneel quipped.

Natsu glared at his bodyguards as Loke opened his mouth.

"Nothing...Dad...just a little misunderstand-"

"Lucy found him cuddling up to her in the tent last night, so she drew a moustache, nose hairs and bushy eyebrow's on his face while he slept, he then dunked her in a lake, they then had a water fight." Gajeel spoke sardonically, causing Natsu to groan.

"Did they now..." Igneel folded his arms and winked at his son who blushed beetroot under his fathers mischievous gaze. He knew very well what his old man _thought_ the two of them had gotten up to last night, but he wasn't about to blurt out the truth anytime soon...he had a reputation to uphold. Lug-nuts and Gingerbread had only found out when he'd accidentally cuddled up to Loke while drunk one summers eve...an event he never wanted to repeat as long as he lived.

"Yeah, yeah...lap it up." Natsu grumbled.

"You know...Lucy _technically_ has a claim in the royal courts as a Lady –" Igneel waggled his bushy red eyebrows suggestively. "She must be the first female in existence not to find you rude -"

Natsu felt his mind opening and he growled at his father in Dragon-tongue, only the four Dragon-Shifters heard him.

_'Don't even THINK about it...'_

* * *

**_Well...kudos to those who figured out that Lucy had a connection to the Dragon Lord of the Celestial Realm...though given Lucy's celestial magic in the show, were we really surprised? How do we think Jude will react to learning he has a long lost daughter? Will Igneel know why Lucy and Happy were brought to the Dragon Lands? Happy is there for a reason too! I look forwards to seeing you in the next chapter, it should be ready in a few weeks, so see you then!_ **


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise early next chapter, I can't say all will be this quick as I'm now caught up editing chapters I had wrote previously before posting this story. You guys have some great theories! I love reading them so keep them coming. Hopefully chapter six won't be too long and enjoy this update!

**Dragon Souls – Chapter 5 - Breakfast and Ballgowns**

It had been an eventful evening of trying, and failing, to fall asleep for Lucy.

Her mind generating a thousand and one questions for Lord Igneel the next day, hoping the Dragon Lord was more forthcoming in answering her queries about the Dragon Lands, than Prince Natsu.

Tossing back and forth beneath the cotton sheets, Lucy had eventually sighed and managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

She had briefly gotten to know the two girls who had escorted her to her room, the youngest at thirteen years old, Wendy Marvell, was an orphan girl taken in by the late Empress Grandine, trained in the arts of healing magic, now taking her mentors place as Ignis's resident healer. Wendy was a friendly, polite and sweet teen who Lucy had the strongest urge could take care of herself just fine, despite appearances.

Levy Redfox, was just a few months older than Lucy, despite her size, the bluenette was a powerhouse of knowledge, far smarter than anyone she had ever met. The blonde had been very correct in her surmise that there was something going on between the tiny woman and the roughish pierced bodyguard Gajeel, the two were happily married and had been for nearly five years; with a youngling on the way in just a few months. Lucy had blushed when her mouth had blurted out without thought she hoped the baby took after Levy in looks, Gajeel was handsome, in a rough and barbarian sort of way; but his glare could fell armies in a single glance.

But the bluenette had simply laughed and smiled, telling her that her husband was secretly a big softie who regularly cooed and sang to her bump when they were alone together.

Their child would be a force to be reckoned with, Gajeels skills as a warrior, combined with Levy's mind would make for a deadly and cunning offspring.

Lucy had been lead down several dimly lit corridors, until the three women had arrived at a wooden door with heavy iron hinges securing it to the stone walls, the curious blonde felt as though she were in a video game, the room beyond housing vast secrets or was the home of a magnificent library to aid her in her quest.

The door had been swung open, to bring into view a large octagonal room, tall black wrought iron windows on three sides, a wooden candelabra hanging on a thick chain in the center of the room, the stone floor was covered in plush furs and rugs no doubt made from animal hides caught by Dragon-Shifters, a four poster bed stood to the right of the door, more furs and simple sheets made it look cosy and inviting. There was a desk against the far wall, a four legged stool beneath it and a gilded golden ornate mirror leant against the wall, a matching dresser and tallboy next to it, two leather armchairs sat by a large stone fireplace, mantle made of oak and containing a few oddities and curios she weren't sure had a purpose. Another door sat against the left wall, to which Lucy assumed was a bathroom or a dressing chamber of sorts.

Levy had announced briefly that the wardrobe contained a few dresses to change into but Lord Igneel had ordered the city's finest dressmaker to bring a selection of dresses for her to wear to the castle the following morning, she would be required to attend a fitting after breakfast. When asked if there was anything else she wanted to know, Lucy had asked if the castle contained a library or something of the sort, eager to pour over tomes from this world.

The bluenette had grinned and nodded, agreeing to show Lucy the next day.

With a final announcement that breakfast would be served at the eighth chime of the clock tower bell the next morning, the three females had given their goodnights and the two left Lucy to her own devices, the blonde grinning in excitement and eagerness to explore her surroundings.

Happy had promptly taken up a prime spot right in the center of her new bed, causing his mistress to roll her eyes, after years of owning a stubborn feline, Lucy knew once the handsome tom cat got comfortable; he wouldn't be moved.

She briefly entertained the idea of sleeping on one of the armchairs by the fire, but there was just enough space to squeeze in by her spoiled cat.

The day she had found Happy, was still fresh in her mind.

Having lost her beloved mother just a few months before, dazed, confused and lost in grief, an idea had popped into her mind one afternoon, having spent much of the past few weeks curled up in her bedroom, unwilling to face the world, sometimes hours spent just staring into space, memories flooding her of her mothers smile, the scent of her favourite perfume, sitting by the little wood burner in their tiny old living room one winter, Layla reading them their most treasured stories.

The first stage of grief was denial, Lucy would sometimes walk into her mother's old bedroom to ask her a question, only to find a neatly made bed, curtains blowing in the crisp November breeze, her ornaments, photo's and trinkets still sitting on the rickety old bookcase, gathering dust but still there. Lucy would then fall to the floor, tears falling at the emptiness not only within the house, but her heart.

The next stage, was sorting her mothers affairs, meeting with a lawyer to read over Layla's will. Lucy had frozen in shock when the sympathetic man had announced she was to receive a small fortune, their little cabin on the outskirts of the town where Lucy grew up. After ensuring all of the bills were paid, Lucy had decided to sell the cabin, finding coming home no longer felt the same without the beautiful and kind woman who was her entire world welcoming her home after school or work. Donating the decent furniture and furnishings, had brought about a sort of cleansing, Lucy had kept her mother's mementos, of course, from the ornate golden key collection that had been given pride of place on the shelf by the front door, to the many hundreds of pictures of Layla and her daughter, picnics in the park, adventures in the countryside, Lucy's graduation; all had pride of place in Lucy's life.

Layla's favourite saying had drifted into Lucy's mind that day, as she decided to shower for the first time in what felt like a week, brushed her long golden hair and gazed at her worn and defeated expression in the mirror.

' _When the world feels unfair and you don't want to face the day, get up, make a plan, do something you have never done, even if it's just a smile; no matter how small, you will feel just a little bit better, Lucy.'_

With no idea what to do with herself, Lucy had simply stared at her reflection...she could go get groceries, she hadn't eaten anything substantial in days. She could take a walk, or maybe she could adopt a pet?

That last thought, while completely random, had caused her lips to twitch upwards, the hint of a smile. Something she thought she wouldn't ever be able to do again.

Another soul to care for aside from herself, she would have to get out of her bed to feed, play with and care for another living being, not so much a distraction, but a way to help her move on.

Keep going.

With her hair in a messy bun, in joggers and an old band tee, Lucy must have looked a sight as she walked into her local animal shelter, the receptionist however hadn't judged her, only smiled kindly at her and asked what she was looking for.

The image of herself playing with a little white dog, ran through her mind.

With that idea, she had been guided through their holding pens, dozens of friendly, some timid and some snoozing dogs coming into view as she passed by; but none jumping out at her. The volunteer asked Lucy if she wanted to view the cats and kittens, to which she had almost said no, but something told her just to take a look.

She wouldn't have called herself a cat person, as she passed felines of every colour, age and personality, from tiny kittens freshly weaned off mum, to elderly moggies just looking for a quiet and warm home to spend the rest of their days.

It was the last pen that caught her attention, a single tiny blue-grey male tom of barely a year old, found curled up in a cardboard box at just a few weeks old, hissy and afraid of the rescuer who found him and anyone else who tried to handle him, the animal charity were advertising him as a rodent control officer, feral and only suitable to live on a farm.

The bundle of fur who had been snoozing, suddenly opened his eyes, stared at Lucy; before getting to his feet, meowing and butting his little head against the glass.

The volunteer had been astonished when Lucy had smiled and announced she would be taking this one home, cementing her decision when the pen had been opened, the handsome tom jumping into her arms and curling against her chest, purring contently.

It was kind of silly, but Lucy was convinced that Happy had been sent to her, he made her laugh, the way he quickly ruled her life, he made her cry, when he had gotten too confident while jumping from a bookcase; fracturing his back leg when his paws slipped on the hardwood floor. Lucy had spent a sleepless night at the local animal hospital with him, feeling like a worried mother in the weeks following his operation whenever he tried to jump onto her kitchen worktops or windowsills.

Happy curled up against her during her moments of upset or when she wasn't feeling well, she sometimes caught him simply gazing at her, those feline black eyes almost staring into her very soul.

Yes he was demanding, went off exploring sometimes and only ate fresh fish, but his little hops against her leg when wanting food, the way she had a constant revolving supply of elastic hair ties because he liked to bat them across the floor, to the funny sleeping positions; made up for all of his shortcomings.

She had no idea how the mischievous tom had followed her across dimensions, but she was glad he was with her, almost as though he was her protector in ten inches of shining blue-grey fur.

Leaving her cat to enjoy his new perch on her bed, Lucy unlaced and kicked off her boots, leaving her socks on, as the stone floor looked rather cold, went to see what was behind the mystery door to the left of her room.

Wincing as it creaked open, Lucy gasped at the sunken pool beneath a large iron window, giving a wonderful view of the outskirts of the walled city, no gaudy neon lights, no loud music, no drunken revellers stumbling from casino to bar.

A toilet sat to the left of the rectangular room, an ornate stone basin stood on a pedestal with a constant stream of warm water trickling from a spout in the wall, the bathing pool looked to be carved from a large piece of smooth and polished marble, the water steaming enticingly.

Silence, wondrous silence, greeted her as she opened the window, trying not to fall into the pool of warm water. It must be a sort of geothermal pool, probably heated by the volcanic activity of the region, her own personal hot spring. The city was lit by oil lamps, casting a soft orange yellow glow against the quaint cobbled streets, charming houses, shops and squares, a few people milling about by taverns, buying from market stalls or simply going for an evening walk.

It was the endless inky sea of stars that caught her attention however, constellations she had never seen before twinkling in the night, much to her astonishment, what looked like a city, tiny looking from her perch at the window, shone brightly in the night, almost as though taking place of a moon.

"Enjoying the view?" A male voice suddenly cut through the silence, Lucy shrieked in surprise and was almost sent tumbling head first into the bathing pool, before a rough and warm hand grasped her arm and forced her back to standing.

Lucy whipped her head round, finding none other than the handsome pinkette second Prince staring down at her with a teasing look on his face.

"People normally bathe naked in this world, Luigi. Not fully clothed." Natsu chuckled.

Lucy yanked her arm from his grip and used it to slap his hand away.

"In my world people don't normally sneak in without permission!" Lucy shot back angrily, this was the third time that this man had snuck up on her, and lately he seemed to be determined to leave her in a permanent state of heightened alertness, fully prepared to have him jump out from behind a corner and surprise her.

"Hey...I only came to see how you were settling in, thought I'd find you snoring but instead I find you staring off into the sky."

"I don't snore! For your information I was looking at the glowing city in the sky."

Natsu raised an eyebrow, confused as to what she meant, he breezed passed her and poked his head out of the window. Lucy watched as his eyes widened, then he turned to her with a sceptical expression on his face.

"What the hell are you on about? There's nothing in the sky 'cept the stars!" Natsu exclaimed, moving back to allow her to take a look.

With her eyes back on the inky blackness of the stars above her, she frowned.

Nothing, just billions of tiny white lights twinkling merrily above her, no city, or any hint of one.

"B-But...I just saw it...right there!" Lucy pointed up into the sky, Natsu following her direction, where he shook his head.

"Honestly, there's nothing there...I think you need Wendy to check you over." Natsu jested, poking her on the shoulder teasingly.

"I know it isn't there _now_! But I swear I just saw it..." Lucy sighed, starting to doubt herself, wondering if the long day had caused her to have a strange hallucination.

Natsu's dragon growled angrily at his teasing, wanting to pull the pretty blond into his arms and comfort her, feelings that were quickly stamped down by a stubborn Prince who refused to indulge his dragons baser instincts.

It wasn't as though the pinkette didn't believe the blonde, but he'd never heard of any sort of floating city in the night sky, there were rumours that the Celestial Realm sat nestled amongst the stars, but it was said to be so far away that even the strongest dragons couldn't reach it. So he very much doubted it was that she had seen.

Perhaps he would bring it up with his father tomorrow...

"So...why have you decided to pay me a visit, really?" Lucy inquired, a fair eyebrow raised suspiciously.

Natsu suddenly froze, when a friendly meow greeted them, the two looking down to find Happy winding his way round Natsu's boots, cheek bumping against him, demanding attention.

Lucy felt her mouth drop open as she was promptly forgotten about, the normally stoic and hard-headed Prince flopped to the floor, legs crossed as a grin lit up his handsome face, amber eyes alight and friendly; causing Lucy to hitch a breath at the sight of this man petting her normally unfriendly to anyone but her cat.

"Hi! You're a special little guy aren't ya?" Natsu cooed in a baby voice, causing Lucy to giggle airily.

It was quite something to see such a strong warrior, rugged and handsome, muscled and well defined male going soft for her fussy feline.

Happy purred...well...happily as Natsu quickly found his favourite spot behind his ear and scratched it enthusiastically, the tom cat rolling over onto his belly, demanding more petting.

"Guessing Blondie doesn't know what you really are buddy, eh?"

Lucy tilted her head in confusion as Happy suddenly pounced to his paws, her eyes widening in shock as the blue-grey tom suddenly began to glow a pure white. Lucy shrieked in surprise as her cat suddenly floated into the air in front of her, pure white wings unfolding from his back, the blonde suddenly ducked behind Natsu and hid her face in between his shoulder blades.

"What the hell?" Lucy suddenly yelled shakily, pinching her wrist as though trying to wake up from a dream.

"What's wrong?" Natsu laughed riotously.

"My cat is possessed!" Lucy squeaked, peeking out over Natsu's shoulder, ignoring the way her heart rate spiked at the pleasantness of his spicy scent. Happy was indeed floating before her on white feathered wings, looking strangely adorable and matching his white patches on his belly and tail.

"You've been pulled into another dimension with dragons and magic and you're really most shocked that your cat has wings?" Natsu deadpanned, reaching behind him to pull her from her hiding place at his back and stood her in front of Happy.

"W-What is going on?" Lucy stammered, squeaking suddenly as Happy floated silently into her arms, his wings disappearing in a shower of sparks as he nudged at her cheek with his little nose.

"Looks like you've got yourself a Familiar, that's what. "Natsu walked around her and stood in front of them both.

Lucy felt her eyes widen as she glanced down at the little bundle of fur curled up in her arms.

"A Familiar...like a witch or wizard would have an animal to do his or her bidding?"

Natsu shook his head, reaching a fingertip out to scratch a purring cat behind the ear again.

"Witches and wizards don't really exist in this world, magic is pretty commonplace, something anyone can learn given the right will and discipline. Familiars are more like a guardian, a spirit sent to you when in dire need or purpose; in your world, Happy is just another cat, but here, he can tap into his magic, he's probably just as confused as you are..." Natsu explained. "He's spent years as a simple house cat, so he's probably only just realising what he can do, but it might explain how he followed you into this world."

Lucy suddenly smiled as Happy meowed comfortingly, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I adopted him just a few months after my Mom died, I wanted a dog but this little guy jumped into my arms and demanded I take him home...he's been ruling me ever since."

Natsu chuckled and took a step back from Lucy.

"Wendy and Gajeel have Familiars, maybe you could talk to them. Right now why don't you bathe and get some sleep?" Natsu moved to turn away, but Lucy's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"Thank you, Natsu."

His breath hitched as the dragon inside him roared, his heart thudding in his chest, Natsu all but waved a hand at the beautiful blond and scarpered from her room, unable to stay in the same room as her without wanting to pull her into his arms, basking in her warmth and the smell of her golden hair. Natsu didn't care if he got no sleep that night, he couldn't allow his dragon to take over and claim her as his Chosen, no matter how much the beast demanded it.

No way would he give his father the satisfaction of knowing that he had began to fall for the sassy and exciting human from the forbidden world beyond the veil.

No way in hell...

* * *

Lucy had awoken just after dawn, well rested and comfortable in her plush bedding, Happy curled up in a ball by her feet, keeping them warm.

The sky was bright with flames once again, sunlight casting prismatic glows of reds, oranges and yellow on the stone walls of her room, she tossed aside the covers, got out of bed and made her way towards her bathroom to take care of business and get ready for the day.

By the time she had bathed, dried her long golden hair and dressed in a simple red gown with poufy sleeves and a golden tassel trim; a bell chimed eight times from the tower at the highest point of the castle.

Just in time for breakfast.

Lucy would be lying if she said she wasn't ravenous, as satisfying as freshly caught fish and venison cooked over a roaring campfire was; she was eager to see what the royal family had to offer for breakfast. She had a craving for a full fry up, sausages, bacon and all the trimmings, but she remembered that this kingdom was still recovering after years of war, perhaps there would only be simple grains, fruits and pastries.

Either way, she was eager to see everyone again, finding some comfortable flat slippers in a woven gold thread had been placed by her bathroom door by a maid while she was bathing.

They were slightly tight on her, but she didn't mind, they were rather comfortable, if a little flamboyant for her tastes. Red and gold seemed to be a recurring theme of decoration within the castle, in her matching dress and slippers, she almost felt like one of the curios on display in the various cabinets, sideboards and bookcases decorating the halls.

Thankful she remembered the directions back to the grand hall, Happy trotting along behind her, tail in the air, Lucy grunted as she opened the large doors, the mouth watering smell and sight of food making her smile as she found a long table and a dozen chairs had been set up in the center of the ballroom floor.

There was, to her great amusement, a pair of cats chittering back and forth by the door where maids were bringing food back and forth, so Happy soon trotted off to greet the black cat and white cat, tucking in to the selection of fish, and most odd of all, kiwis.

Laden with red tablecloths, plates, platters and trays contained freshly cooked bread rolls, what looked like real butter, cheeses, bowls of fruits, a steaming bowl of porridge, a tray of bacon and sausages, much to her delight; several familiar faces turned to greet her as she entered, and two unfamiliar ones.

Lord Igneel sat at the head of the table, Natsu to his left, an open seat next to him she assumed Igneel had left for her, Gajeel was sat next to Levy, Wendy and Loke nearby.

A handsome black haired male sat to Igneel's right, with a tiny but beautiful blond haired woman next to him; who would be opposite Lucy.

"Ah, good morning Lucy!" Igneel boomed good naturedly, beckoning her towards the empty seat beside Natsu, who paused momentarily from shovelling food into his mouth like he'd never eaten before and glared at his father, the black haired male curiously grinning privately at the tiny blonde next to him. "Please come join us, don't mind this buffoon's eating habits, I've taught Natsu many things but apparently table manners got lost somewhere, along with his charming personality!"

The table erupted into riotous laughter as Lucy took her place at the table, she smiled graciously at Igneel and began to help herself to a healthy serving of crispy bacon, sausages and a few fried eggs. A few maids were ambling around the table, taking away empty plates, refilling glasses of water, teas and coffee and even fresh apple juice.

Lucy wasn't worried too much about eating daintily, eager not to offend the royal family and staff, but when Igneel let out a hearty belch, complimenting the maids for a fantastic meal; Lucy relaxed. She thought for a moment she saw Natsu smiling at her when she began to tuck in to her hearty breakfast with gusto, but as soon as she met his amber eyes with her own; he had looked away.

"Wonderful meal as always, now you and everyone go enjoy your own breakfast, we are fine, Kinana."

A pretty maid who had just refilled the Dragon Lords glass smiled and bowed, along with the rest of the staff.

"Thank you, my Lord. We will take our leave now, do call if you require anything else." Kinana replied happily, obviously looking forwards to a break.

Lucy smiled at her as she walked away, it must be a hard job, but all of the staff seemed to enjoy pleasing their Lord; he was every bit as kind and just as Natsu had said.

It was strange, the pinkette had warned her that not only would she be feared, but unwelcome in these lands; but everyone she had met so far, from street vendor, to the man in charge himself, had been nothing but kind and courteous to her.

Only Natsu seemed to harbour any animosity toward her...

Lucy was shook from her musing as Igneel made to introduce the unknown male and female to him, she had a vague suspicion who they were, the whiteness of the handsome males eyes had given it away, not that she was to judge, he seemed to have no trouble getting about and doing things like a regular man, his other senses no doubt heightened by the lack of vision, he had his fathers eyes, but Lucy surmised he must take more after his late mother, as Natsu was the spitting image of his father.

"Lucy, may I introduce my oldest son, Zeref Dragneel, he is the one who shall take over as Dragon Lord of the Fire Lands when I retire or pass on, the charming and lovely lady next to him is Mavis, his mate and Chosen. Don't be fooled by her size, Mavis is a master tactician and strategist." Igneel complimented.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lucy!" Mavis smiled, raising a hand to wave across at Lucy, which she returned eagerly.

"Welcome to the Dragon Lands, I hear my little brother might finally have met his match." Zeref chuckled, smiling kindly at Lucy, who giggled at his comment.

"Oi! Don't you start too, 'Ref...it's bad enough coming from the old man.' Natsu grumbled, angrily spearing a sausage with his fork and shoving it into his mouth.

"You manage to wash the bushy eyebrows off your face, I see." Lucy quipped, smiling sickeningly sweetly at the second Prince, making the pinkette glare at her and the table laughed again. "You said 'Chosen', what does that entail?"

"Chosen are women of nobility who compete in grand tournaments for the chance to win the submission and love of a future Dragon Lord, each Lord rules over his own territory. You see Lucy, our dragons are fundamentally, a separate entity from our human form, they are spirits that exist within those chosen by the Dragon Gods to be taught their ways, my father before me was taught by his father and so on. In return for our coexistence with these dragon souls at it were, we take care of their sacred lands and their people, and allow them freedom to soar the skies, hunt, it is a mutual respect as it were. Our dragon side rarely chooses their mate as soon as they meet, favouring a strong mate who will cherish and protect her or his dragon and sire their young. Female shifters are exceedingly rare, only a few have ever been documented and as of this moment there are just two female Shifters in these lands, one is mated to the Dragon Lord of the Thunder Plains, Laxus Dreyar, he also happens to be grandson of the Leader of the Grand Council. The other is the leader of the Knights of Valour, Erza Scarlet." Igneel and several others around the table shuddered in terror at the mere mention of the last name, including Gajeel, whom Lucy had never seen look afraid of anything.

"The most terrifying woman in existence!" Natsu turned pale as though he was about to be sick, until Igneel continued his story.

"Tournaments differ from territory to territory, our own tournament was last held two years ago, when Mavis was chosen by Zeref. Candidates are selected by the Council if there are not enough volunteers, it is a three stage event, the first is a race of sorts, a mile swim from one shore of a lake to the other, then a foot race through the Lava fields and finally a climb up the jagged peaks of the volcano, the very rumbling giant where you and Natsu found one another. The three winners then go through to the next stage, a treasure hunt of sorts. The final stage is the toughest and most dangerous. The Chosen candidates must battle their Dragon Shifter to try and earn his submission." Igneel went on, earning a gasp from the enthralled and slightly intimidated Lucy, who had a sudden and very deep respect for the noble women who went through the tournaments.

"Wow, that sounds tough..." Lucy whistled, a little confused by the barage of information, but she could ask more detailed questions later. "Can a Shifter not choose his own mate?" Her question directed towards Gajeel and Levy.

"Not one of Royal Blood, to keep the nobility pure they choose a suitable woman of title, it's considered a dishonour to the other candidates if a Prince shows favouritism towards another." Loke explained. "Although technically it's not against the rules should a candidate make it to the final stage that the Prince can submit to his fondest contestant."

"That is how my Mavis won my heart, I was enchanted by her mind." Zeref spoke and turned his head to lean down and press a kiss to his mates cheek, Mavis blushed adorably and smiled at him.

"Regular Shifters don't choose their mates via a tournament. I met Levy when she –" Gajeel began to explain, before he suddenly blushed and looked at his plate.

"He used to make fun of me and called me a 'shrimp'...so one day I punched him in the face." Levy giggled, causing everyone to laugh.

"Couldn't resist after that, my girl has a mean right hook." Gajeel guffawed.

A comfortable silence settled over the group before Zeref once more directed a question at Lucy.

"So, my father tells me you are from Edolas, I've only read a few books on your world, most I feel are outdated and derogatory towards Humans, calling you barbaric, cruel and greedy but you seem perfectly polite, kind and gracious, are our ways strange to you?" Zeref asked.

"No, not at all. Your world is mysterious, beautiful and fascinating, I've spent years reading books about adventures of daring knights, perilous quests and rescuing the Princess. In fact it's quite nice not to have my phone going off every five minutes with my boss yelling at me!" Lucy chuckled. "Many in my world are rarely seen without technology, but give me a good book over my phone any day!"

Several confused faces around the table were to be expected, there was no technology here, no internet, no phones, computers or electricity.

"Fone?" Zeref asked in interest, eager to learn more from a direct source from Edolas, rather than centuries old books with archaic views and slander.

"How best to describe it?" Lucy spoke aloud to herself. "It's a device that allows you to speak over great distances with anyone, instantly. It's difficult to explain the science behind it but –"

"Most fascinating, so I assume it is like sending a letter but instead of words, voice?" Igneel asked, his attention fully on the blonde. "How ingenious, letters here are delivered on horseback or by dragon carrier if urgent."

"Yes it's very similar to that." Lucy smiled at Igneel, glad he seemed to grasp the vague concept. "We also have what is called the 'Internet', it can be used to access information anywhere and on any subject in an instant. It's like a fully stocked library in the palm of your hand."

Levy jumped from her seat excitedly, slapping her hands on the table.

"I _wish_ I could visit your world someday! It sounds thrilling."

Lucy giggled and nodded, smiling over at the bluenette.

"Maybe one day, you can."

"You said your 'Boss', you have a job back home?" Mavis asked, taking a brief sip from her glass of water.

"Yes, I'm a journalist, a writer for a local newspaper." Lucy nodded, then frowned. "I'm not sure if you have anything –"

"Current affairs are written on a large roll of parchment and displayed in town squares, sadly not everyone can read or write so we also have criers who read to people in the streets." Zeref replied.

"Well newspaper's are a summary of the daily news printed on paper, made into booklets and are sold to the public, town announcements, advertisements for services and the like. Before that I was a historian of sorts for my local town." Lucy explained.

"Geesh, and I thought Levy was the only brainiac around here..." Natsu piped up suddenly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Lucy asked, an eyebrow raised at him.

"Nah, just don't use any big words around Pinkie, you'll make his overinflated head explode!" Gajeel chuckled.

Igneel smiled and turned to Levy, before his warm gaze settled back on Lucy, ignoring the bickering between his son and his bodyguard.

"Mrs. Redfox is our historian and chronicler, perhaps, should you be here for an extended period of time you two could write a more current and realistic record of your world, in return you would be welcome to remain here and learn about ours."

Lucy gasped excitedly, nodding her head in thanks.

"Of course, I would be glad to if you would let me stay for a while, time here moves much quicker than back in Edolas so I can't say I'll be very much missed. The only family I have back home is a cousin, though I wouldn't say we were close." Lucy giggled, with her stomach filled from the delicious breakfast, Lucy turned the conversation towards the list of questions she had for the Dragon Lord.

"So, how would I go about getting in contact with my father, if he would want to see me?" Lucy inquired, she had spent most of the evening laid in bed, deciding back and forth between making contact. She had decided that with nothing to lose if he didn't want to know her, she wouldn't feel unaccomplished for not even having tried.

"I have sent a carrier with an urgent letter addressed to Jude, to be delivered to the Council of Elders, I await his reply in the coming days. Until then, try not to worry. I will have Natsu escort you should you wish to explore outside of the castle...do not protest Natsu...but I would request you, for now, stray no further than the city walls. My people shall not harm you under my command, but I cannot guarantee your safety outside of this city. There are Dragon and people alike who still fear humans and would wish you harm, even though you are clearly no threat to them."

"Thank you, I won't stray from Ignis's walls, you have my word." Lucy spoke truthfully, causing Igneel to smile, Natsu rolled his eyes at his father once more forcing him and Lucy together.

"Excellent, now, if you excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." Igneel exclaimed, rising from his chair and leaving the ballroom.

The rest of the table was quick to follow, Zeref and Mavis and Gajeel and Levy strolling off together, Wendy and Natsu were last to leave, the second Prince announcing he was going for a run around the gardens, the young teen however, motioned for Lucy to follow her to a part of the castle she had not seen before.

* * *

After what felt like several hours of being prodded, poked and stabbed with pins and a very sharp needle, Lucy had finally been fitted for several everyday dresses and even a few ball gowns. Apparently Igneel was holding a grand ball to celebrate Natsu's twenty sixth birthday the following week, inviting nobility and Dragon Lords from far and wide to celebrate with the Prince.

For Igneel, it was once again a chance to try and garner interest in his youngest son, but at this point it felt like he was fighting a losing battle; until a beautiful and lovely blonde had found herself in an entirely different world than her own. If it weren't for her having a life to go back to, and Natsu's obvious hostility to the very idea of claiming a mate; Igneel would have sponsored Lucy's entrance into the tournament himself.

Even if Jude refused to claim her as his daughter, Lucy could still potentially be granted leniency via a sponsorship via a member of the Council of Elders, if someone believed in her enough.

Until then, Igneel would simply act from the shadows, finding ways to push his stubborn son and the pretty blonde together, Lucy was a beautiful and kind, strong willed woman, and could already see the way she was worming her way into his youngest son's heart.

The chemistry between them was as electric and exciting to watch as his own feelings developed for his beloved Grandine, they would spend hours simply talking, Igneel captivated by her brilliant mind and the love of her people.

But Lucy, having no idea of Lord Igneel's plans of matchmaking, simply twirled merrily in her favourite of the dresses, the periwinkle blue dress made from silk and organza, off the shoulder seemed to be a trend for women of this land, a glimpse of tasteful skin without being scandalous, the bodice embroidered with flowers that matched more sparsely embroidered ones to the skirt. The gown twinkled under the light beautifully.

The brief wonder at how Natsu would like how she looked in it entered her mind, cusing her to blush suddenly, her heart rate spiking as she dampened down that thought.

The rest of her day had consisted of pouring over tombs in the library, a maid had brought her some delicious beef stew and some crusty bread for lunch, warming her body with it's heartiness.

She was unaware of the drama unfolding in the other side of the castle at that very moment...

* * *

Lord Igneel had spent much of his morning tending to his royal duties, apparently being ruler over a small kingdom required a hell of a lot of paperwork!

Changing of land ownerships between two local produce growers, approving plans to renovate the eastern wing of the castle, the upcoming Fire Festival to celebrate the start of the Spring Harvest.

He had received most of the confirmations of just who would be coming to the ball for Natsu, the Dreyar's, including Elder Makarov, the Fullbuster's, among many of his close and personal friends.

Curiously, a messenger had arrived promptly just after lunch, red in the face from rushing to the Lord's chambers.

"Yes?" Igneel let his eyes widen at the messenger wearing a familiar uniform from only one place in the Dragon Lands.

The Council.

"My Lord, I bring a letter of summons stating the immediate presence of your young guest to Era." The man spoke with authority.

"Jude got my letter already?" Igneel stammered.

"Tis a summons for the human girl to appear before the Council of Elders at the request of Councilman Jude Heartfilia, questioning the validity of your claim of discovering his daughter."

This was a shock to Lord Igneel, he had expected Jude to contest the existence of Lucy, but it was pointless to refute the hard proof that the pretty young woman was the perfect mix of Layla and Jude; but perhaps he would not contest it when he met Lucy in person, after all he had never seen her before or had even known of her existence. To do this publicly would announce to the Dragon Lands that there was a Edolas human among them, increasing the danger for the young maiden.

"When is Lucy required to appear before the Council?" Igneel asked tensely.

"In precisely two days."

Igneel nodded and dismissed the messenger, waiting for the door to his office to close before sighing and steepling his fingertips together, elbows resting on his best.

"Have you really grown so cold in all of these years alone, old friend?"

* * *

**Well, that's it for chapter five, see you soon for the next installment!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, back with chapter 6, i'm starting on some artwork soon, so look out for that info in future chapters as I'm not sure what platform they will be displayed on. Thank you guys again for the support with this story and I appologise for gramatical errors, I know I need a beta reader! I really appreciate contructive comments as it helps my writing improve, I was ok in english class but not amazing! Anyhoo hope you enjoy this next installment and don't forget to review!

**Dragon Souls Chapter six – The Council of Elders**

The news that she was being summoned by the Council of Elders in just two short days, had left Lucy with a feeling of uttermost dread in her stomach. She was ill prepared to stand before a group of officials and plead her case to them, or her father.

She had expected a quick response, perhaps a week or two, at most.

Not barely more than forty-eight hours...

Igneel had passed her an officially written letter, looping writing in black ink complete with a coat of arms, two dragons facing back to back with a shield in the centre; over a sumptuous banquet of dinner the evening before, her delicious meal of pork sausages, creamy and buttery soft mashed potato and roasted vegetables, with real gravy...forgotten as she shakily took the letter.

The entire Lords table had remained silent as she had read the summons.

Igneel's kind eyes showed concern and care, which left her feeling warm, despite her insides feeling as though a bucket of ice cold water had been poured down her back, as she learned she would be questioned by the Council to test the validity of her claim.

Despite Igneel's scoff that anyone would be a fool to refuse that she wasn't the spitting image of his old friend and his lover, the quiet blonde hadn't spoken much through dinner that night. Her new friends desperately trying to cheer her up, Happy had curled up on her lap; purring gently and kneading against her thighs, trying to comfort her.

Natsu had even tried a few things to get her to smile, flicking peas at Loke and Gajeel, juggling bread rolls, nothing seemed to work. A frown hadn't left his handsome face all evening, distracted from wolfing down his food as he kept glancing across at her.

While she appreciated his efforts, a single thought was taking over her mind.

She was really going to be meeting her father tomorrow...after twenty four years...and from the looks of the letter, he wasn't going to welcome her with open arms.

The Dragon Lord had told her he had arranged to take her himself, in Dragon-Form, flanked on either side by his own bodyguards. Lucy would be riding in his hands, or claws; Igneel had asked if she would prefer riding on his back, but Lucy wasn't thrilled with the prospect. The flight would take three hours, the journey would otherwise take a week on horseback, and even then; Era was apparently impossible to get to from the ground.

After a fitful sleep, Lucy had woken as though on autopilot, stripped bare and bathed in the thermal pool in her bathroom for over half an hour, she had dried her trembling body and moisturised; changing into a practical outfit that had been left for her on the bed while she had been in the bath.

There was a beautiful white peplum off the shoulder corset top, gold threading details across the bodice, elbow length sleeves flared out a few inches in a pretty ruffle, the back flared out in a matching ruffle that fell into a V shape around her derriere, a pair of thick black leggings made of wool that were the cosiest things she had ever worn; finally, a pair of low heel knee high, dark brown boots completed the look.

Everything, to her surprise, had fit her like a glove; give her a weapon to hold and maybe she would resemble a heroine of an adventure novella, about to journey to a dangerous land to slay a vicious beast.

This outfit was much more comfortable than the dresses she had been wearing, as pretty as they were, she found herself tripping over the hem more than once.

It was hard to be graceful when you could trip over your own feet!

Securing her hair in a simple braid down her back, Lucy gave herself the once over, before she smiled and left her bedroom; making the way through the corridors, down the main castle staircase and into the ballroom for breakfast. She wasn't very hungry, given her nervousness; but a good meal would help energise her for what she was sure to be a very trying day.

Igneel had told her they would be leaving promptly for Era, wherever that was, after they had eaten.

Lucy bowed to Lord Igneel, before she quietly walked towards her place at the table; next to Natsu, as always.

She nodded at the various greetings of good morning and the like, then her eyes met those of deep amber, a little thrill shot through her when she saw those amber eyes roving down her body, Natsu had just brought his glass to his lips to take a drink, when there was a sudden movement of his hand, and, in two seconds; his water glass had tipped over, unending its contents all over his lap and the floor.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion as he began swearing and heated his body up, the water evaporating within a second. She found herself giggling, even though no one else had seen his clumsiness; their eyes met once again and Lucy shook her head at him teasingly.

"I think you might be clumsier than me." Lucy chuckled as she sat down, the warmth roving off of him left her feeling a little hot under the collar.

He'd tried to form an insult to throw back at her, but seeing her in that outfit had made his brain shut down and all of his motor functions seemed to stop working; his anger dissipating when he had heard her small giggle.

The white top she wore clung to her torso like a second skin, enough cleavage on display to get his dragon all worked up again, those leggings were extremely flattering on her shapely legs and the knee high boots left his mouth dry, coupled with the pretty plait hung over one shoulder; holy fucking hell...

"You're a weirdo." Natsu grinned cheekily at her, her eyes blinked several times at the fact he wasn't arguing with her.

Had he sustained a head injury? Was he sick? Was she in another alternate universe?

"What, no insults today?" Lucy shot back with a raised eyebrow, piling sausage, some bacon, a fried egg, toasted bread and some butter onto her plate.

"Weirdo wasn't an insult?" The Prince raised an eyebrow mockingly at the blonde.

"No...actually I take it as a comp –"

"When you two have quite finished flirting, Lucy my dear; we must make haste." Igneel spoke with an air of amusement in his voice.

The two in question pulled away from each other, not realising their faces were so close to one another, Lucy turned beet red when she saw the rest of the table giving them various smiles, waggling eyebrows and a mock look of heartbreak from Loke; Natsu clearing his throat while Lucy busied herself with buttering her bread and fried egg. Her hands moving jerkily and slowly.

Natsu turned his gaze on what she was doing, both confused and intrigued as he watched her cutting the sausages in half, placing them on one slice of the bread with the egg and the bacon. She then cut the odd sandwich in half and looked up, noticing with a start that several people were looking at her.

"What?" Lucy asked in confusion, worried she had done something wrong.

"You eat breakfast on toast?" Natsu asked.

"What, you've never had a breakfast sandwich?" Lucy smiled incredulously. "It's amazing! The runny egg coats the bacon and sausages and makes it delicious."

Lucy was surprised when several people, starting with Natsu, began to copy her. Levy, Wendy and Igneel all tried her version, Loke added extra bacon while Gajeel, Lucy shuddered; slathered a healthy coating of mustard in his own toasted sandwich.

Natsu had never done this with breakfast before, sure, he'd had all of these elements separately; but as he and his friends constructed their own creations, and bit into the toasted bread, several surprised murmurs rang out round the table and Natsu himself moaned happily.

"Wow, this is great!" Levy laughed, slightly muffled from holding her hand over her mouth as she spoke.

"Isn't it!" Wendy agreed, making Lucy smile.

"Where the hell have you been all my life?" Natsu mumbled in between mouthfuls, shovelling the rest of his new favourite thing ever into his mouth, with enthusiastic gusto.

"W-What?!" Lucy squeaked, looking at the pinkette Prince with a extremely red face, he realised what he had just said, with his throat going dry as he tried to think of a comeback.

"I was talking about the sandwich."

It earned him an annoyed kick under the table, but the situation was defused as the beautiful blonde went back to her breakfast. Igneel gave his son a wry look, while Lucy wasn't looking, but Natsu rolled his eyes.

That was a close one...thought Natsu.

* * *

Lucy was surprised to find dozens of people standing in the courtyard outside of the castle, including staff, and everyone who had been at breakfast. A ginormous circle had been left clear in the centre.

She had turned to ask what was going on when Natsu had simply whispered to her that this was the first time his father, their Dragon Lord had transformed in years.

"Dad hasn't shifted since Mom died, he couldn't bring himself to. The entire castle has been buzzing about this since yesterday." Natsu smiled sadly, causing Lucy to soften her eyes at him. "His inner dragon loved her just as much, he was grieving too, I guess."

"I'd love to have met her." Lucy whispered back, Natsu returned a small grin before looking towards his father. "She must have been a wonderful woman."

"Thanks."

It was an important spectacle to watch, Igneel's subjects, some who had never seen his Dragon-Form; were tittering excitably to themselves as their ruler took his place in the centre of the large square. Lucy herself found her eyes captivated as brilliant red and orange flames began to flow around Igneel.

His eyes closed, seeming to have a little trouble in summoning his inner beast, for a few moments nothing happened. He simply stood there, the picture of quiet concentration; sparks and flashes of fire darting around him.

Then the flames began to come together, forming a whirling vortex around the Dragon Lord, people gasped as a great guttural roar pierced the morning sky, the heat making the wind pick up, swirling dust and debris into the air. Several people took steps back as two humongous wings unfolded, red and black scales with a taupe membrane littered with scars and wounds. If Lucy thought Natsu's Dragon-Form was impressive, Igneel was doubly so.

A fully grown red and black dragon emerged from the fire, eyes of slitted amber like Natsu's, but different in shape. His powerful and hulking body was easily thirty meters from snout to tail and as he stood on his muscular legs, with dagger like claws. His underbelly was the same colour as his wing membrane, twin horns sat either side of his head, black diamonds dotted his forehead, fingers and toes. Tail was forked at the tip, just like Natsu's, it was easy to see, even in Dragon-Form, that they were father and son.

Igneel, it was easy to see why he was the Alpha dragon, as it were. This ginormous powerhouse was tasked with protecting and defending these lands, he has to be the strongest. His people looked to him for peace and prosperity in difficult times.

Lucy gasped as the second Prince suddenly walked forwards, Zeref doing so too from his spot nearby with Mavis. Natsu erupted into red and orange flames, his older brother into blue and white flames, two more roars rung out into the courtyard as they too Shifted.

Lucy, having seen Natsu's form once before, concentrated her attention on his brother.

Zeref was a little larger, being older, his dragon a sleek black, with a contrasting white underbelly; his twin horns matched Igneel's and he had the same diamond pattern, but in white, as his father. Zeref was muscled, thin but toned but built for speed and silence, not brute strength and power.

The two Princes bowed heads to their father, who let out a rumbling purr to his boys, a soft noise that Lucy suspected was dragon for 'I love you, my children.'.

Dozens of heads bowed to their Lord. It was a beautiful thing to watch, their respect and love for Igneel showed in their happy smiles and pride. While his dragon was huge and utterly terrifying, his expression was that of kindness and just a hint of mischief that Lucy recognised in Natsu's inner beast.

The Princes shifted back in a blase of red and blue flame, stepping aside, Natsu motioned for Lucy to come forwards.

"Dad will lower his claw for you to climb on, there might be a jolt as you take off but when you get up there it makes it all worthwhile. You aren't afraid of heights are ya?" Natsu teased.

"Shouldn't you have asked me that before now?" Lucy replied haughtily, yes she had flown in a plane, not that Natsu would know what that was, but she enjoyed staring out of the windows as they sped along high in the air. "No, I've flown before."

She had suspected it would be very windy, but nothing too different.

Natsu nodded and turned as the dragon Igneel lowered his right claw, opening it for Lucy to step on. She reached out to hold onto one of Igneel's reptilian fingers, which was nearly as tall as her; she sat down in the centre of his hand and Igneel's claws closed around her like a warm cage, she felt secure and comfortable in his grip and she spoke loudly.

"Okay, I'm ready!"

With a humongous roar, Igneel flapped his wings, sending a huge gust of wind through the courtyard, then jumped into the air, Lucy gasped as she looked down at the city as they ascended, thousands of people were crammed into the city streets, all cheering, shouting and waving; word must have spread about Igneel's first transformation in years, it made Lucy smile and wave back, even though she knew no one could see her in his clutches. There were even children yelling excitedly and pointing at the large red dragon floating high above the city.

' _I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to soar into the air after all these years.'_ Lucy heard Igneel's amused voice in her head.

"It's wonderful!" Lucy yelled excitedly, her wide brown eyes taking in the view, she squeaked and gripped on to the Dragon Lord's claw as he hovered in the air, watching as a different light red dragon and a grey metallic looking dragon flew their way towards them.

' _Don't be alarmed, they are my bodyguards, Atlas and Metalicana, the latter is actually Gajeel's father.'_

Despite knowing the scary bodyguard Gajeel, she had never seen his Dragon-Form, she suspected it looked similar to his fathers.

With a few words spoken between the three Dragon Shifters, they set off, flying north towards the mountains surrounding some large lakes, Lucy spent her time eagerly taking in the landscapes; fields gave way to rivers, mountains gave way to flat plains.

Everything whizzed by at great speed and once or twice Lucy got a glimpse or two of wild dragons, a pretty blue serpent diving in and out of a vast lake that made her smile, and a fat and well fed green dragon curled up asleep in a cluster of tall redwood trees in the middle of a grand forest.

Igneel announced to her whenever they passed over the boarder into another land, so far they had skirted the outside of the Ice Realm, a land of glaciers and snow, ruled by a Dragon Lord called Silver Fullbuster. The kind and wise ruler of the Fire Lands had never been particularly keen on the brash and stubborn Silver; but held no animosity towards him.

In his own words, he thought Silver was a bull-headed stubborn barbarian.

The Thunder Plains had eventually come into view, tumultuous skies filled with rolling clouds of grey and black, storms swirling in a hurricane a hundred miles wide. Lucy gasped as they flew above it, her brown eyes had never seen anything like it, spiralling clouds covered the sky, and in the centre, sat an eye, easily twenty miles wide.

' _The storm never moves, only surrounds Era, where the capital stands. It is impossible to get to unless by air, the Council is situated in a fortress atop a rocky mountain.'_ Igneel explained in her mind.

Lucy nodded, her eyes still raking over the capital city, where sat a walled city, much larger than Ignis; in the very centre sat a hexagonal fortress with six towers at each corner. There were no entrances from the ground, it seemed, a way in could only be seen from the air. Large iron windows sat around the top of the tower, where, she had been told; sat the Council chamber.

' _Our stories and legends say the storm once roamed the land, conjured by a descendent of the Dreyar Clan eons ago, until it was tamed by Councilman Makarov and used as a natural defence for the city. No human or dragon can fly through the storm, they would be killed if they even tried.'_

"Wow...that's so cool." Lucy smiled, even the littlest details she discovered about this mysterious world absolutely fascinated her, no more words were exchanged as they landed on the stone courtyard on top of the fortress; there were some uniformed guards waiting for them and Lucy couldn't help but feel nervous again as she hopped off of Igneel's claw.

She was allowed time to hop down and steady her legs from three hours of no use, while Igneel Shifted back. Flames and heat encased the large red and black dragon, before the Fire Land's leader returned back into human form.

"State your business." One of the guards called.

"Dragon Lord Igneel of the Fire Lands here to escort this young woman to her summons with the Council of Elders." Igneel called back, gesturing to her.

Lucy watched as a circle glowed a bright blue around them, before they appeared to be standing on a circular platform in the centre, a spiral stone staircase descended around the circle.

"You may enter."

Igneel nodded and he and Lucy began to walk down the stairs, the roof disappeared above them as they spiralled around the column, Lucy covered her eyes as a bright white light blinded her; when she opened her eyes again; Lucy found herself in a circular chamber, six arched windows showed the storm beyond.

Twelve grand looking chairs filled with men and women sat facing the circle and the staircase was nowhere in sight. Made entirely of stone, banners in a vibrant green hung from the walls, a flagstone floor with a wooden platform stood in the middle. Eyes were staring at her curiously, her own glanced over every one of them, a pair of eyes to her left caught hers, they widened at her gaze, before falling to the floor. There was a tiny man sitting in the grandest chair, who was gazing directly into her eyes, as though gazing into her very soul.

Igneel was stood to her left and he bowed his head to the small old man as the two of them stood on the platform.

"Welcome, Lord Igneel. You have arrived perfectly on time." Spoke a tiny man at their center of vision.

"Elder Makarov, it is a pleasure to see you again. Here is Lucy, just as asked." Igneel spoke kindly, to which Makarov twirled his beard and turned his attention to a man two chairs to his right, the one who had refused to look further at her.

"We were fully prepared to question the girl, at the request of Jude, however if you still don't believe the girl, is your youngling, then you are an even bigger fool than I thought." Makarov spoke sternly. "This beautiful young thing is the damn near spitting image of you."

Lucy turned to look at the man who it seemed was her father.

His silvery blond hair was back in a low ponytail, wrinkles and a stern expression marred his face, he wore thin rectangular spectacles and had the same eyes as Lucy.

"I-Is Layla?" Jude spoke shakily.

"She passed on when I was younger, yes...father." Lucy spoke sadly, confirming her mothers death.

"I have no daughter, my Layla would have told me!" Jude refuted loudly, his eyes finally rising to glare at Lucy. Her sadness rose suddenly at the words she was hearing, along with unbearable anger.

"My _mother_ didn't know she was pregnant when _you_ banished her!" Lucy hissed, clenching her fists by her side. "She was alone and expecting in a world she had never been to before! I never knew you!"

"Do not berate me girl, I had no idea!" Jude yelled, his face turning red. "You should have just stayed where you damn well belong."

"There is no need to speak to her like that!" Makarov bellowed and frowned at Lucy as tears fell from her eyes, Igneel gave his old friend a stern look.

"Layla raised this girl by herself in Edolas, despite all of the hardships they faced, your daughter is a kind, caring woman with a strong mind and she is, despite your reluctance to accept her, half Dragon-born." Igneel spoke loudly and with an edge to his voice. "Lucy has no idea how she got here...she wishes to remain here and learn about our world...there is nothing tying her to Edolas anymore."

"I shall not accept her, I will not sponsor her stay here." Jude snapped.

"Very well...if that is your decision then I will accept it, I can't believe my wonderful mother loved such a coward." Lucy's voice turned deathly quiet, Jude responded by rising to his feet and storming from the room, the door slamming loudly made Lucy wince as her heart broke.

So...that was that then? Lucy had expected this outcome, but it still hurt like hell.

Makarov shook his tiny head and turned to the remaining Council persons.

"Is there anyone else who wishes to stomp from the chamber like a petulant child?"

Several murmurs of disproval rung out around the room, some giving looks of pity to Lucy as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I thought I had nothing to loose in meeting the man who sired me, but I don't understand why he refuses to accept me." Lucy spoke sadly, looking up at Igneel with watery eyes.

"My brother has always been stubborn, give him time."

Lucy looked over to find a beautiful woman with a long blond ponytail, standing from her chair, walking towards her and gazing down at her kindly, there was an obvious resemblance to her father, and Lucy felt her mouth drop open...she had another relative?

"Anna..." Igneel murmured in surprise. "I thought you were..."

"Dead? So did I, actually." Anna murmured in amusement, she gave Igneel a pat on the head and Lucy giggled as he grumbled. "How are you, Iggy?"

"Fine if you forget that silly nickname..."

"Anna returned to us a few days ago, her wounds were grave and she had no idea how she got here, but with Healer Porlyusica's help are trying to piece together what happened to her these last ten years." Makarov smiled kindly, his eyes turning to regard Lucy with a curious expression.

"It would seem you're appearance is connected with Anna's...we shall be looking into it." Makarov chuckled. "So...you wish to remain here young lady?"

Lucy blushed and nodded. There was something she liked very much about the head of the Council, he was mysterious, yes, but she suspected he was just as kind and forthcoming as Igneel.

"Yes, if I am allowed to, I understand that Edolas humans aren't welcome here...but I have nothing really to go back to. Igneel and his family have been most kind to me –"

"What a polite girl you are, under normal circumstances, Edolas humans would be sent back, but your connection to our world means you are welcome to stay and learn of our ways. I just hope your father sees some sense or I may have to Shift into my old dragon and beat some sense into him." Makarov chuckled.

"My youngest boy is quite taken with her..." Igneel piped up with a sly grin to Makarov. "Well...his dragon definitely is...Natsu is being stubborn about getting too close to her."

Lucy blushed and shook her head as the remainder of the council began to laugh.

"Don't start that again...that bonehead might be ridiculously attractive but he is rude, childish...and...well" Lucy bit her lip when she suddenly couldn't think of more things she didn't like about him...did that mean she was starting to feel differently about Natsu?

Oh no...when had that happened?

"That boy is the reason my hair has fallen out." Makarov sighed, his hand rubbing the bald spot on his head fondly, as though reminiscing. 'But underneath the hot headed, overpowered toddler, that Natsu is a loyal, passionate and cheerful boy who would do anything to help those he loves."

"Never thought this day would come!" laughed a male Council member who looked eerily like a vampire. "We've been trying to match Natsu for years."

"Natsu refuses to accept settling down...he has already told me he has no interest in taking the throne." Igneel sighed.

"Natsu is a free spirit, perhaps he does not wish for a noble, delicate flower who will obey his every command and be nothing more than a trophy wife. He longs for someone to share his adventures." Makarov smiled at the Dragon Lord of the Fire Lands.

"In that case...with your permission Igneel, I shall sponsor her stay." Anna spoke kindly, smiling at Lucy as she gazed up at the woman. "If you are happy to keep her with you Igneel, then I shall claim her as my niece..."

Lucy felt a jolt of affection for the older woman, a wide smile broke through her frown at the sadness of being rejected by her so called father, she was ecstatic to have another relative to gladly accept her with open arms. She longed for a new motherly figure and Anna seemed just as wonderful as her mother.

"Thank you, Aunt Anna." Lucy beamed.

"I don't think I ever met your mother, Lucy; but if she was anything like you then we would have been great friends." Anna hugged Lucy to her chest briefly and rested her cheek on Lucy's head.

"Very well then, Lucy of Edolas...do you denounce your old name and hereby be known as Lady Lucy Heartfilia, noble woman of the Royal Court of Ignis?" Makarov asked, getting to his feet.

"I do, Councilman Makarov." Lucy spoke proudly, finally feeling the joy of having somewhere to belong; and a new family member to get to know.

"Are you aware of what, exactly that entails?" Makarov added, a sneaky look to his face.

"Not exactly..." Lucy confessed.

"As you are no longer eligible to take the throne of the Celestial Kingdom, because of your father passing down the duty to someone not of his blood, accepting your title enables your selection as a Chosen in the Phoenix Tournament, you may be matched with a Prince and be selected to compete to become Empress...you may then claim your right to rule with your Lord."

Lucy squeaked and shook her head.

"I'm not sure I want to rule anything..."

"You do not have to accept becoming a Chosen, most Ladies of the Court, however do."

A sigh of relief left her lips and she smiled down at Makarov, she nodded.

"I still wish to accept my title."

"Very well, it is done. I must warn you, Lady Lucy, you may be on the receiving end of dozens of offers based on looks alone." Makarov chuckled, several other of the Council murmuring in agreement.

"Huh?" Lucy blushed, confused.

"We Heartfilia women know how to take care of ourselves." Anna chuckled, holding a hand around Lucy's shoulder.

"Don't I know it...the Dragon Lands seem to be in a healthy supply of terrifying women..." Makarov grumbled, his face going white.

* * *

It hadn't been long before it was time to return to Ignis, Anna had accompanied her niece and Igneel for the rest of the afternoon, talking about what was to be expected of Lucy, as Anna's charge.

Lucy would be required a trainer, as she was half Dragon-born, it was revealed she would be able to use magic, the element based on which land her parents had hailed from; in this case, magic using the stars. Anna had told her that it might be difficult to learn, given her heritage of a non noble mother, but she was eager to try anyway. Lucy would be given and trained in weapon usage, depending on which magical weapon chose her, she was surprised to learn this.

Her...a weapon user? She really couldn't imagine herself holding a sword aloft, or a spear. Maybe something simple like a dagger, or staff?

They had then spent nearly an hour talking about how the tournaments worked and the process of becoming a Chosen.

The Council of Elders chose those most suited to the Prince, personality and values wise, almost like a job interview. if there were more than six Chosen, the Dragon Lord then narrowed the selection down further for his son, and then the Phoenix Tournament would begin. Chosen would then get to know their potential Lord in waiting, but the Prince would be dissuaded from favouritism as to show respect to the others. Chosen were forbidden from battling one another outside of the Tournament stages, harm to another candidate would result in expulsion. Many a jealous Lady had been stripped of her title in her obsession to win the throne, for the most part, however; the Phoenix Tournament was an exciting realm wide event that drew huge crowds. After the war, people had needed something to look forwards to, so the tournaments had been made public; and the citizens and noble alike had relished in the spectacle.

Igneel had told her that her new status would allow her to roam the Dragon Lands freely, no fear of hatred or retaliation from those who hated her human side, she would be able to claim favour or requests from the Council, should she require help and, the one that made her laugh...

Natsu would be forbidden from displaying any animosity towards her...she would love to see his face when Igneel told him that!

Igneel had told her briefly that Anna was another of his childhood friends, she had disappeared after a battle with a group of bandits, who had robbed her carriage while she was on a diplomatic mission to the Ice Realm. While she wasn't a Dragon-Shifter, she was very adept in the use of magic; and while she hadn't time to train her niece herself, Anna had provided her with several tomes to learn the basics from.

Anna was a mediator of peace and prosperity, touring the Realms and helping to keep the lands from another war.

With fond farewells and a promise to visit Ignis soon, Lucy had settled down in the cocoon of Igneel's claw in order to read from her new books. Her eyes barely left the pages, eagerly soaking in the first steps of how to tap into her inner energy reserves and conjure her magic; if she was able to of course.

Lucy barely noticed the hours whizzing by as quickly as the countryside, towns and cities below her.

She didn't notice they were nearly home, until Igneel and his bodyguards begin to descend...

* * *

Natsu had spent much of the day pacing the castle, worried about what was taking his dad so long...

Had they been attacked mid flight? Was Lucy arrested as soon as they got to Era? Had they a way to send her home again? Was his dragon ever going to recover if he never got to see her again?

As much as his head wanted desperately to keep her at arms length, not allow himself to feel anything other than an odd sort of friendship they had seemed to settle into over the last few days, her sassiness made him smile when she wasn't looking; her dangerous curves made him want to take her to bed for entirely different reasons other than comfort, and her smile and kind brown eyes made him feel wanted and appreciated.

His heart was telling him to trust his dragon, the beast inside was a warm, loyal and playful spirit who loved to explore the world, go on new adventures and just lately; had been pining for a certain blond beauty to share that with. Natsu knew she had an inquisitive mind, in her funniest moments he could see the same playful sparkle in her chocolate eyes, the wonder he saw whenever the simplest things in this world brought her joy and happiness.

His head was beginning to agree with his heart, the longer he spent in her company; and the thought no longer terrified him...and the thought that it no longer terrified him...terrified him even more!

Maybe he didn't have to give up his freedom if he settled down, Zeref and Mavis were to take the throne of the Fire Lands when Igneel was ready to retire as Dragon Lord and become an Elder. Maybe he could still live a free life?

Lucy was the one his dragon wanted to share his life with...would it really be so terrible to let her in?

The only thing holding him back was the thought of Lucy not being eligible for a title, if her dad refused to claim her then what option did she have for staying here? Would the Council of Elders be kind to her, as an Edolas human, she was an anomaly in this world.

After an afternoon of beating out his frustrations via a spar with Gajeel in the sandlot of the rear gardens, Natsu had caught sight of a familiar red and black dragon in the distance, flanked on either side by Uncle Atlas and Lug-nut's father.

With a shout of surprise from his sparring partner, Natsu pushed his bodyguard aside and bolted back into the castle, the maze of corridors whizzing by as he made his way to the courtyard at the front of the castle to greet his father, and, hopefully Lucy.

The dust kicked up a little as the magnificent beast that was Igneel's dragon form landed late that afternoon, Natsu felt his dragon purring happily within him as a familiar blond jumped from Igneel's claws, dusting off her knees and sneezing at the dust. The second Prince smiled at her secretly, as her eyes landed on him with a smile.

"Well...the castle is still standing...guess that's something." Igneel piped up, now back in Human form, he gave his son a pat on the head.

"How'd it go?" Natsu asked, eyes still on Lucy for some reason, she wasn't sure why, but it made her feel warm. He seemed genuinely interested in her wellbeing.

"Well...my dad is an asshole who won't _accept_ that he has a daughter." Lucy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I expected as much, but his rejection still hurts."

A jolt of sorrow passed through him as his dragon roared angrily at this information, did that mean she was to be sent home? Makarov was normally a nice guy, surely he would have let Lucy stay, she wasn't any threat to the Dragon Lands.

"So...are you...going home?"

To Natsu's surprise, Lucy then giggled and shot him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Pinkie...but my Aunt Anna has claimed me as her niece...so looks like I'm gonna be sticking around a while." Lucy giggled as he over exaggerated rolling his eyes and complained. He had a brief memory of a kind and funny blonde woman, he had a crush on her in his childhood; visiting the castle, but he shook it from his head.

"So I gotta put up with your clumsiness, smart mouth and weirdo ways for even longer?" Natsu huffed mockingly.

Igneel grinned at the pair of them...animosity had quickly turned to an odd friendship of insults, teasing and the like between them...who knew how long it would be before their feelings deepened even further.

At this rate his youngest boy looked to be slowly coming round to the idea of a mate, maybe not settling down; but even just the thought of Natsu having a partner to go on adventures with, made him smile in pride.

"Careful with your words my boy, Lady Lucy must be shown the courtesy and respect a Lady of the Royal Court deserves..." Igneel grinned as his son went as white as a sheet and his mouth dropped open comically, Lucy too bent over at the knee's and howled with laughter as he gaped at his father.

"WHAT?!" Natsu shouted unbelievably, his inner dragon roaring in triumph at the words just spoken to him, the revelation of her new title making hope flare inside him.

Because that meant his dragon had a right to claim her, should she choose to become Chosen, her next words however, left him feeling a little deflated.

"Yup...I'm now a charge of Anna Heartfilia...I've no interest in becoming a Chosen or entering the Tournament, but it means I am safe from any harm...it also means you have to be nice to me, Pinkie." Lucy tittered, her eyes full of mirth at the look on the second Princes face.

"Aww man..."

Igneel then walked towards the front doors of the castle, giving his son a pat on the head.

"As our honoured guest, why don't you escort Lady Lucy on a tour of your mother's lovely garden? I'm sure she would enjoy it."

Knowing what his father was up to, and, knowing he couldn't refuse; Natsu sighed and offered his arm towards Lucy.

Damn these stupid rules...teasing Lucy was far too much fun.

"S-Shall we, milady?"

Lucy looked extremely unimpressed and gazed back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I can explore by myself, thank you."

Igneel roared with laughter as Lucy gave Natsu a cheeky grin, the Dragon Lord strode off into the castle, no doubt to inform the Royal Court of the happenings that afternoon. When his dad had gone however, Natsu reached out to grab Lucy's wrist, pulling her into his arms.

Lucy felt her breath stutter as she found her face inches from the handsome pinkette's own, her eyes dropped to his lips where she found a teasing smile greeting her.

"Wanna come see the gardens with me?" Natsu whispered.

Lucy found herself captivated by his warm expression, no teasing, no ulterior motive, just him. She nodded with a blush on her face, feeling helplessly caught like a moth to a flame at his sudden charm.

"If you push me into a fountain or pond I'm going to kill you." Lucy whispered.

"Nah...wouldn't dream of it, Luce." Natsu whispered back.

* * *

The gardens, Lucy had seen at a glimpse from her bedroom window, she had not gotten the chance to explore them yet; even though she had a guide, she was enjoying her tour.

Natsu had led her through a pair of doors down one of the corridors she had not explored yet, her mouth had dropped open to find a lush green oasis existed in this land of fire and dryness. Exotic plants of which she had never seen the likes of before surrounded them.

A grass path meandered through the gardens, ferns, grasses and oddly shaped flowers on either side of her as they walked in relative silence. Natsu led them over an arched bridge, some fowl were swimming happily down the stream underneath.

"I can see why your dad thought I might enjoy this, it's beautiful!" Lucy smiled as she stopped to smell a collection of pretty red flowers very similar to orchids, but with longer leaves. "He's been acting pretty strangely around us, have you noticed?"

"He's trying to play match-maker that's what...I dunno what part of 'I don't want to take an Empress' he doesn't get but –" Natsu sighed, brushing his fingertips along a fern leaf to his right.

"Surely with Zeref and Mavis taking the throne, he would lay off you a bit?" Lucy asked, looking over at him. "You should be free to make up your own mind."

"You'd think so...but he thinks we have...chemistry."

"O-Oh."

"What do you think?" Natsu focused the heat of his eyes on the blonde. Lucy felt a blush bloom over her face but she didn't run. The more she thought about it, the more her heart told her she liked him.

"Well...he might have told me that your dragon is fond of me...but while I don't hate you...I have no interest in becoming a Chosen...I want to explore this world and learn everything I can about it." Lucy giggled nervously, as Natsu looked at her with a surprised look on his face. "I know you don't think too highly of me, so as much as Igneel probably means well..."

"I don't hate you either..." Natsu mumbled, looking away with redness to his cheeks. "You're different from the noble women of the Royal Court."

Lucy giggled and held her hand out to poke Natsu in the chest.

"What, is the big bad dragon blushing?"

Natsu turned his eyes on her and stepped into her personal space, his warm hands on her waist and he pulled her into his arms. Lucy felt her heart speed up in her chest and she lifted her arms to rest on his shoulders to steady her wobbly legs. His next words made her mouth drop open.

"What if I am, Luigi?"

"I-I'd say it was misguided..." Lucy stammered, willing her nervousness to calm down.

"I' wouldn't say the same." With that, Natsu moved away from her and walked away, turning to beckon her to follow him. "Come on, my mom's favourite place isn't far."

Lucy followed with a frown, confusion beat in her chest.

She was getting tired of all of his mixed messages...

* * *

**Well, thats it for chapter six, seven will be up within a week as I'm already working on it, btw this isn't the last we will see of Jude! See you soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I wasn't going to post this till the weekend, I'm trying to get ahead on writing chapters just in case I get busy and cant write for a while, that way you aren't left waiting for the next chapter. Also things are certainly starting to get interesting in this story, several more things are explained in this one. i'm trying not to confuse my readers but this is a complicated world our heroes live in.
> 
> As always thank you for the love and support, I love hearing what you readers think!

**Dragon Souls – Chapter Seven – Chosen By Force**

Lucy was flabbergasted to find herself standing in a vast cave, jagged rock looming above and around her, carved from an ancient underground lake; water was still dripping in from somewhere nearby, the constant _drip drip drop_ was causing a tick of irritation in her temple.

The cave walls glistened in the eerie purple glow that was coming from somewhere below her, stalactites hung from the ceiling like deadly daggers ready to fall at a moments notice.

Even more impressive than the cave, were the circle of dragons gazing down at her, each of varying size and features. Black, green, blue, gold and red; all eight were shaded differently. Some with wings, some without, some large horns, some small; but all terrifying to her.

For these were no Shifters...these were real life Dragons. Wild, untamed and deadly.

In a stark contrast to her summons with the Council of Elders the week before, this was no impenetrable fortress set high on a mountain in the eye of a titanous storm. This was a secret and hidden place, hidden deep within the earth, a sanctuary of sorts for these magnificent living Gods.

It was obvious hardly a human or Shifter had ever set foot in this sacred place.

Instead of ornate chairs, there were rocky podiums for each Dragon to sit on, their tails or wings wrapped around the base for some stability. The only light in this cavern was the beautiful purple glow of what looked like a bioluminescent crystal floor that wound around the base of each podium, including the central one that Lucy herself stood on.

Easily the largest, the midnight black Dragon had a yellow underbelly, yellow whispers sprouting from trapezoid nostrils; a white mane and beard trailing down it's back, deadly and twisted horns made of a worn but solid metal. It gazed down at her with eyes that held a spark of all the wisdom in the universe.

" _Lady Lucy Heartfilia, who we hath sent for, you stand now before the eight Dragon Gods. We have called for you to complete a task for us."_

Lucy blinked at the black Dragon, who seemed not to be speaking directly at her, but in her mind, like the Shifters were able to do.

"H-Huh?" Lucy stammered meekly, unsure how to respond.

" _My name is Voltres, Dragon of thunder. To my left it Terra, Dragon of earth, to her left is Verglas, Dragon of ice. On his left is Ignia, Dragon of fire. To my right is Nova, Dragon of stars; to her right is Hydris, Dragon of water and to his right is Tempest, Dragon of air. Finally is Morta, the Dragon of death."_

"Er...hi?" Lucy chuckled nervously, sixteen eyes staring at her in intrigue as she swallowed audibly. "Wait...you brought me to the Dragon Lands? Why?"

" _You were not brought here by us, but by someone else. You, who has always dreamed of adventure, are here to guide a wayward soul away from the darkness that lays within him. You must complete training under the guidance of the Dragon, Nova and her human charge Anna Heartfilia. You are going to be forcefully entered into the Phoenix Tournament to complete for the Prince of the Fire Lands."_

"WHAT?! I have no desire to enter any tournament and I certainly do not have any desire to marry Natsu!" Lucy shrieked, causing several of the Dragon Gods to ruffle their scales.

" _Sadly...these events have already been set in motion, there is a traitor within the Council of Elders, we have brought you before us to warn you."_

"T-There is...who?" Lucy asked shakily, her mind going back to last week, trying to work out who it might be. Apart from her coward of a father, she couldn't pinpoint anyone.

" _We do not know who it is, we rarely interfere with the humans of our Realm...but this is important. You must see this through, if the enemy is allowed to succeed in their plan our world will suffer. You were brought here for a purpose."_

"Y-Yes...but I didn't think it was to shack up with a stubborn, confrontational hot-head with commitment issues!" Lucy felt her heart almost giving out in her chest, it wasn't as though she was a nervous and spluttering virgin, but the idea that she was only here to become Natsu's Empress...she didn't like it. She was confused...these Dragon's weren't making any sense!

" _You say she is Jude's offspring? Surely my lineage would not produce such a puny and malnourished youngling."_ Nova, the golden Dragon spoke haughtily.

Voltres, the black and yellow Dragon began to pulse with electricity, the static making the fine hairs on Lucy's arms stand on end; a warning to the golden Dragon for her harsh words.

" _Careful with your tone, Nova...the Heartfilia Clan, were they not the humans to nurse you back to health; allowing you to rebuild the Heavens an eon ago when the Dragon War ended? You dare speak so lowly of this girl, when you are indebted to her family..."_

" _You mean the Heartfilia family who, but Dragon Lord Jude, passed down his throne to a measly Priest who has done naught but squander the Celestial Realm's riches on wine and women? I refuse to nurture an arrogant old man who neither cares for his Kingdom nor accepts any responsibility for his actions!"_ Nova spoke vehemently.

"Yeah...my dad is an asshole, I speak from experience." Lucy deadpanned.

" _You may be a Heartfilia...but you are of Human upbringing."_ Nova hissed, her eyes flashing.

" _Her upbringing is of no importance, she was conceived in this world."_ Voltres retorted.

Nova simply huffed, light of a prismatic colour began to shift along her golden scales, as she loomed over a confused Lucy.

" _Very well, runt. Anna shall tutor you in my magic, but when you fail I shall banish you from the very Heavens themselves."_

Lucy glared at Nova, not impressed at being called a runt.

"Compared to learning from a snobbish lizard with no manners I would be honoured to study under Aunt Anna's tutelage."

Silence met her words for a few moments, before Ignia; the red Dragon with a flaming mane, huffed in amusement.

" _She is of strong mouth as well as mind and a cast iron will. She will make a fine Empress for my descendant, Natsu."_ Ignia rumbled, flames jettisoning from his nostrils, making Lucy feel warm. This was the fire Dragon who had taught magic and Dragon-Shifting to the Dragneel Clan, she had seen his image displayed in the castle at Ignis.

"You are the Dragon who taught Clan Dragneel?" Lucy smiled, giving him a polite nod of the head.

" _I am Ignia, yes. Igneel's ancestors saved me from a pack of humans who had spent three days hunting me down for my hide and horns. I was exhausted and close to dying, I am indebted to his family."_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I am saddened by what happened to your lands, but they are slowly recovering...they are certainly an... _interesting_...family!"

" _Thank you for saying that so eloquently...Igneel and Natsu are certainly odd characters."_ Ignia mused.

"Do you meet with them often?" Lucy asked, intrigued to know more about the family.

" _Their kingdom throws me entirely over-elaborate festivals twice a year, to which I visit and give my blessing to their hard work, while I do appreciate it...I think it is more an excuse for the kingdom to get drunk."_

Lucy giggled and wiped a tear from her eye, she then turned back to Voltres, who was still glaring at Nova; who seemed to be sulking from Lucy's biting words.

"So...is this place a dream or a vision of some sort?"

" _You are an astute girl, yes...this is a meeting on the border of our minds, a halfway point where we may communicate. You see Lucy, we Dragon cannot talk normally, we are wild creatures with basic instincts; only through thoughts or vision may we project our will. When Human's were banished beyond the veil into Edolas, those Clans who were loyal to us were rewarded with the gift of magic. Some learned to tame the spirit of a Dragon Soul, the ether of a Dragon who had been separated from his physical body; and offered them a new vessel. Dragon-Shifter and his or her Dragon live in a symbiotic existence, the Shifter allows their Soul freedom to be a Dragon once again, in return the Soul gives them the gift of flight, accelerated healing and to become stronger and faster."_

"But...how and why did the Dragon Lords and the Phoenix Tournament com about? Why do only women compete and not men? Why aren't the Princes' not allowed to choose their own Queen?" Lucy asked, her feet getting tired of standing; so she sat down on the podium with her legs crossed. She wanted answers.

" _That was something the Clan's came up with. In our world was it was mainly male dominated, women were seen as commodities; things of beauty to be worshiped and respected by the most barbarian of men. With more modern views, things are beginning to change for the better. There are many more female Dragon-Shifters than this world realises, some have simply not realised their potential, some are afraid of being persecuted."_ Terra, the earth Dragon spoke softly.

"R-Really! That's amazing...I thought it was just the two." Lucy grinned.

" _It is often just a few who will change views for the better, my dear. We Dragon God's see the Tournaments as archaic and cruel, we wish for their dissolution. As for royalty not being able to choose who they wish to marry, this is another old rule, purely to keep the bloodline noble...the eight Clans who became Shifters decided that there should be no one single ruler of the Dragon Lands, boundaries and the like were worked out between the leaders, instead of one single King there would be Lords; the oldest members of each Clan would be a member of the Council of Elders. Over the last few centuries a few of the Clans have split or merged...there are currently twelve separate Clan's in the Dragon Lands."_

"And those are?"

" _Too many to name, several are nomadic tribes who move around trading wares, food and weapons in exchange for passage and a place to rest their Clan. The largest ones are the Fire Lands, ruled by Clan Dragneel, the Frost Realm of Clan Fullbuster, the Thunder Plains of Clan Dreyar, the Forest Glades of Clan Saber and the Celestial Province of Clan Junelle."_

"Wow...that's a lot to remember...so is there peace between the Clans?" Lucy laughed nervously.

" _For the most part yes, there is some trouble brewing in the Frost Realm that we are keeping a watch on. Dragon Lord Silver is attempting to unite the Lake Tribe and his own by the commencement of another Tournament, a union between his son and a daughter of the Lakes. The problem is that Silver insists on his son ruling both kingdoms, which is against the rules of the Council, Makarov wishes to ban the Tournament, which sadly most of his peers refuse to do."_ Voltres explained.

"Sounds like a lot of unnecessary drama." Lucy raised an eyebrow at Voltres who nodded his regal snout at her, the blonde fully supported the head of the Council in his ideals.

" _Getting back to more pressing matters, Lucy. You will be forced to enter the Phoenix Tournament and while we know this is against your views, you must win...for the sake of this world."_ Voltres urged pleadingly.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, startled by the sudden sombre mood of the Dragon Gods. "I don't have a choice?"

" _I am cursed with the ability to gaze through the stars and see glimpses of the future. I have seen that a great peril is coming. Someone, I have not seen who, is to betray the Council and slaughter them. This person seeks to release the Dragon Souls from their human bonds and turn them against their hosts. You must prevent Natsu from becoming seduced by his demons, there is darkness in his heart; the horror he saw as a child haunts him and fights to consume him."_ Voltres revealed, Lucy felt her sorrow for Natsu rise in her gut, she knew he suffered from nightmares of his past; but she had no idea it was consuming him.

"How will I achieve that by becoming his Empress?"

" _You will teach him the purity of love, laughter and happiness again; before the darkness possesses his Dragon Soul and turns him into a mindless demon...the enemy will use him and others to destroy this world."_

"Sure...how difficult can that be?" Lucy asked hysterically, her face turning white at the thought of what was to come. "I guess kidnapping him and going on the run won't work?"

" _No, your union was set in stone eons ago, my dear. We shall be here to guide you, trust in your impeccable instincts. You can show him that to be free, he does not have to give up his freedom."_

* * *

Lucy awoke that morning with a gasp, bolting upright in bed; her hands clammy with perspiration on her face. That was perhaps one of the most fantastical dreams she had ever had in her life!

She wasn't even sure it was really a dream...

Words that only the Dragon God's _would_ know, the history of the Clans, what was to come; Lucy was damn well sure she hadn't just dreamt them up.

They had seemed personable enough, except for maybe Nova; but the ultimatum that this world would essentially end if she didn't get Natsu to fall in love with her by forcibly entering a stupid and old Tournament...no pressure huh?

Who even said there was going to be one, anyway? Whoever was forcing the Tournament had a small problem that there were no other women wanting to become his Empress, even if Lucy became Chosen; she couldn't very well compete against herself!

Flopping back onto her pillow with a shaky sigh, Lucy let her brown eyes drift over to the window; the flaming sky was red and yellow as always...perhaps early morning? She tended not to pay attention to the fire in the sky, it was easier to figure out the time of day from the tolls of the castle bell tower.

In the week since her summons before the Council, Lucy had spent much of her time between religiously studying all of the literature she could get her hands on regarding Celestial Magic. The basics were creating light, and learning to channel it through her body; starlight was apparently a fickle mistress to control.

A medium to channel her magic through, would make it easier.

Anna had brought a whole trunk of weapons with her, Lucy's aunt had arrived on the back of a stout and rather creepy looking green Dragon called Ichiya with orange hair, a shade darker than Loke's. The Dragon had apparently befriended Anna, while she had accidentally stumbled across his hideout one day. Lucy suspected the pervy Dragon had a thing for a pretty woman, given he had tried to sniff Lucy inappropriately when Anna had introduced them.

After handling swords, daggers, halberd and staff's aloft; some she could barely lift from the ground due to their weight, Anna had presented her with a whip.

The handle was made with a stiff and graspable leather, the whip itself made of woven strands of thin but unbreakable metal, the woven design was beautifully crafted, and, according to her Aunt; the perfect medium to channel her magic through.

Learning how to wield and use the weapon had been an altogether more challenging feat, so far Lucy had five painful welts on her body from striking herself; she had also broken two vases, beheaded a statue and nearly broken a window.

Her muscles ached in places she didn't even know she had them, sleep was wrought with random titbits of information she had digested; so much so she was quickly becoming a Celestial Magic trivia buff.

Natsu had even sat in on her training once or twice, after complaining he had no one to pull pranks with; if she caught him rolling around the courtyard laughing riotously as she once again tangled the whip round her body and tripped over...

She was going to tie him up and dangle him upside down from the ballroom chandelier!

Of course the idiot would probably tell her he liked to be tied up and run off, leaving her red faced and with entirely inappropriate images in her head.

After trying to make sense of her odd experience of standing before the Dragon Gods, she decided to talk with Igneel; while he was a little unconventional for a ruler, he was wise and might have a solution. Lucy had dressed in her favourite black leggings and a simple long tunic with a V neckline, long sleeves and a woven brown belt; matching her knee high boots. She was prepared to run down and grab a quick breakfast, but her way was blocked as she opened her bedroom door.

Natsu was stood there with his arms crossed, a frown on his handsome face. Her eyes briefly flickered over his outfit for the day, a simple black sleeveless tunic tucked into black baggy pants and combat boots; he looked extremely good, but the curiosity at him being outside her door outweighed her desire to gawk at him.

"Why're you here?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Well, good mornin' to you too! It's the Ball tonight, the castle is crowded, noisy and a mess of staff preparing decorations and food for tonight...wanna escape the castle with me? If I have to try on another stuffy embroidered jacket, I'm going to show up naked." Natsu moaned, his eyes giving Lucy the once over. "Shit...you got training today?"

Lucy shook her head and smiled. Natsu was going out of his way to spend time with her?

"I was just heading down to grab a snack and go study in the library." Lucy lied smoothly, if she said that she wanted to speak with his father; he would want to come.

"How _exciting..._ " Natsu spoke sarcastically. "You've been working hard all week, Luce. Come ditch with me!"

Lucy rolled her eyes at his pleading look as he tugged on her wrists, she pulled away from him a few times until he pouted.

" _Fine_...but if it involves putting chilli powder in Gajeel's underwear drawer again, count me out..." Lucy sighed.

"Nah, I just wanna spend some time with ya, do I need a motive for that?"

"Yes..." Lucy deadpanned, she pushed passed him, turning to look back at him with a smirk.

Natsu's beaming grin made her heart flutter.

Just what had gotten into him?

* * *

"So this is Ignis." Lucy hummed excitedly, walking ahead of Natsu as they strolled through the market, she was taking in all of the wonderful foods, spices, clothing and wares; the second Prince was simply enjoying walking behind her, a smile on his face as he saw her enthusiasm for his home city.

He had been a little worried when she had suggested they walk through the city streets, without his bodyguards; but everyone was as friendly and welcoming as always. Plus, with her training well underway and her whip clasped to her belt; he had no doubt Lucy could look after herself now. His glare and her sassiness alone was more than enough to send away any would be trouble makers.

"This place is amazing, I can't believe I haven't explored before now!" Natsu watched Lucy as she stopped and turned to look at him, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet.

From her frown, he could tell something was on her mind.

"What's eating ya?" He murmured, hands in his pockets, Natsu walked towards her.

"I guess you aren't one for elaborate Balls for your birthday, huh?" The pinkette frowned, not believing that was what was troubling her. He played along.

"I don't mind the food and the music, heck if I'm in a good mood I don't even mind the dancing! I get to see my friends from other kingdoms, I wanna introduce you to Erza, Mira, Gray and Laxus. I hope Lisanna is back from the coast, I haven't seen her in ages!" Natsu smiled fondly.

"I've heard of Erza, Mira and Laxus, but who are Gray and Lisanna?" Lucy smiled, joining Natsu at his side as they slowly began to walk through the centre of the market.

"Gray is the Prince of the Frost Realm, he and I have a bit of a childhood rivalry going on...but he's a good guy. His Dad is an asshole, unfortunately my Dad invited him tonight. He's a troublemaker who hates Edolas...so promise me you will keep away from Lord Silver? I don't want him to insult you, Luce." Natsu turned to her and placed his warm hands on her shoulders, making Lucy give a breathy nod.

He searched her eyes for any sign that she wasn't listening to him, but the sincerity in her gaze made him smile and he pulled back from her, walking again.

"Lisanna is like a sister to me, Dad tried to set us up once but we both refused. She is Empress Mira's little sister. They have a brother Elfman but he and his Wife have just had a baby, so aren't able to travel with Clan Dreyar."

"Your Dad really lays it on you, huh? I know these tournaments are part of your heritage but I find them –" Lucy sighed, looking across at Natsu.

"I don't like the idea of women fighting to the death over a Prince. It's a stupid tradition, I don't want or need a woman to swim through a lake, find some shit and fight me to try and prove her love. I want to be able to make that decision on my own."

"There are much safer ways to prove your love to someone." Lucy smiled, glad she and Natsu were on the same page about the silly tradition.

"I...I wouldn't make a good husband...my Dragon Soul might be carefree, adventurous and playful. I spent my childhood under lock and key, watched constantly...I guess...I'm afraid I'll feel trapped with no way out if I get married."

Lucy understood...finally. Was that what was holding him back from getting too close to her? What was is the Dragon God's had said to her?

" _You can show him that to be free, he does not have to give up his freedom."_

"But what if you find a woman as carefree and adventurous as you are?" Lucy smiled, turning away from him and walking towards a nearby fruit stall, she picked out some delicious looking red apples and gave the woman a gold coin, telling her to keep the change. A grateful barrage of thank you's later and Lucy was clutching an entire basket of them. Natsu smiled at her as she immediately walked over to a trio of thin and malnourished children who were begging for food in a shop doorway.

"That's my problem, Luce. I already have." Natsu whispered softly.

* * *

There was a huge commotion as Natsu and Lucy returned to the castle that afternoon.

Having spent much of the morning browsing the shops, stalls and chatting with some citizens, the two of them had found a secluded hill to talk further and watch the sky. Time had seemed to run away from them as Lucy had dozed off against his shoulder, he had wrapped an arm around the sleeping blonde and simply enjoyed her soft warmth; Lucy found comfort in his spiced scent and had unwittingly fallen asleep.

As they had stepped through the doors, Natsu was marched off; highly protesting as the castle tailor grabbed his left ear and dragged him away to be fitted for his outfit of for the evening.

Lucy was accosted by a giggling Levy and Wendy, who were eager to make it a girly afternoon of preening and pampering; ready for tonight's Ball.

Guests from all over the Dragon Lands were due to begin arriving by the seventh toll of the bell tower; the event itself to begin at the eighth. The courtyard had been cleared for those arriving by Dragon, while a separate gate had been opened for those in carriages or on horseback.

There would be various Dragon Lords and their Clan's attending, only those with a close friendship to Clan Dragneel of course. Lucy caught a glimpse of different banners than the Dragneel one, displayed in the entry hall, a warm welcome for their esteemed visitors.

Lucy had been pulled into her room, the three had taken turns to bathe in the thermal pool, then sitting on the bed in their towels as they tittered excitedly about the ball. Happy had found a cosy spot at the end of the bed and was seemingly oblivious to the noise around him.

Levy had helped Lucy with a complicated fish-tail braid down the right side of her hair, securing the ends with a long piece of leather cord; it looked extremely nice on her and the blonde thanked the pregnant woman.

Lucy had chosen one of the two gowns she had previously been fitted for, a stunning red and black number. A sweetheart neckline that sat just off her slender shoulders, fitted elbow length sleeves that tapered out slightly at the end; the bodice ended in a V shape, the skirt was poufy and dramatic with black trim and leaf detailing over the entire gown. It made her look elegant, when she felt more like an imposter playing dress up.

The simple black wrap sandals she had paired with them were comfortable, just the right thing to be dancing in, should anyone ask her.

Wendy had joked she would be on the receiving end of plenty of offers so it was wise to choose sensible footwear; Levy then piped up she would be too occupied with Natsu, making the blonde blush bashfully.

Levy had styled her hair into a pretty style of curls and had on an empire waist light green dress with plenty of room for her bump. Wendy was in an blue A-line gown with a square neckline and cute ruffles around the skirt.

There was a knock on the door shortly before the Ball was due to start, a guard escorted them down the stairs and into the ballroom, Lucy marvelled at the sumptuous decorations; flowers picked fresh from the garden, banners everywhere, a large space for dancing had been left with tables set up around the edges.

There had to be a hundred or so people in the room, Igneel was entertaining a group of men who were dressed as finely as he was, embroidered jackets with exotic furs, the finest silks and hides, these were the men that ruled the kingdoms of the Dragon Lands.

Natsu was on the other side of the hall and seemed to be having a stare down with a handsome black haired male, dressed in blue furs; she guessed this was Gray Fullbuster, Prince of the Frost Realm.

Fire and Ice...of course they would clash!

Lucy was dragged over to meet a group of women by Levy, as they got closer the bluenette called out to a beautiful and terrifying red-head who was speaking to an equally beautiful woman with white hair.

"Erza, Mira! Long time no see!" Levy laughed, both of the women turning to her with a smile.

Lucy found herself shrinking in fright when she realised who these women were...

Erza Scarlet, leader of the Knights of Valour...the exclusive army tasked with protecting the Council of Elders; an elite force of warriors with the highest and most deadly form of training in the entire Realm.

Mira Dreyar, Empress to Dragon Lord Laxus, ruler of the Thunder Plains and highly deadly in her own right.

The only female Dragon-Shifters in existence...were these the women to help bring about a change in the perception of female Shifters?

She hoped so.

Lucy would have been terrified of them, but as Levy introduced her, the two women smiled kindly at her, welcomed her to the Dragon Lands and asked how she was enjoying her stay. They treated the Edolas human as one of their own, sympathised with her when Lucy told them about her meeting with her father and the Council; Mira giggling and saying that Makarov was the kindest old man she had ever met. The conversation then turned to teasing as Levy noticed a certain pink haired second Prince heading their way.

"You _have_ been getting close to Natsu, Lucy." Levy whispered excitedly.

"He might be a bonehead but he's passionate and loyal." Mira tittered.

"Not you guys too! He's gorgeous but he's stubborn and –" Lucy began, completely unaware that Natsu was grinning at her cheekily...right behind her.

"And what else?" the teasing tone of his voice made Lucy shriek and turn to face him, her cheeks red. The embarrassed blonde was about to reply when she got a good look at what he was wearing, she had only caught a glimpse from across the way.

A long sleeved, red and gold jacket, trimmed with gold embroidery that looked like flames, the front of the jacket had matching gold closures; baggy black pants with a line of gold down each side tucked into brown boots. His hair was neat and slicked back, she was surprised to see that he had an undercut, perhaps more noticeable without his normally messy spikes to cover it.

"Wow...you scrub up nicely!" Lucy blurted before she had a chance to think, causing her to cover her mouth and giggle nervously, shame taking over her as she heard the girls giggling behind her.

Natsu gave her a heated look and used his right hand to wrap around her waist, pulling her towards him.

"You scrub up pretty well too, Luigi." He chuckled, amber eyes roving unashamedly down her body, causing her to shiver slightly. "You know how to dance, right?"

"W-What? No!" Lucy gasped in alarm, trying to pull away from him, but unsuccessful in her attempts as he lead her towards the dancing couples. "Natsu I-I can't!"

"Me either, let's just make it up as we go along!"

Lucy couldn't help but laugh nervously as she was spun around in a circle, a slow and melodious tune was playing from the band on stage and for a moment, Natsu faltered.

She was looking at him oddly, trust in her eyes as he gazed down at her; the scene around them disappearing as they focus solely on one another.

Natsu pulled Lucy into him, her ample chest against his as his right arm snaked around her waist, his left hand smoothing down her right arm to grasp at her hand. Lucy felt a shiver travel through her body, setting her insides on fire as they swayed slowly to and fro to the beat of the drums; her left arm rose to smooth her hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. Her fingertips played with the soft strands of pink, making his breath hitch; his fingertips teased across the low back of her gown. As he twirled her, a soft giggle left her lips as she clung on to him with dear life; she trusted him not to let go of her, but with the way her legs felt like jelly, Lucy was about to melt into a puddle.

"N-Natsu." Lucy whispered, their breath mingling for a moment.

Just as quickly as the spell had been cast over the two of them, it disappeared as the band stopped and a familiar voice boomed out over the hall.

"My friends! Thank you all for being here to celebrate by dear Natsu's twenty sixth birthday!" Igneel boomed good naturedly as he took to the stage, a cheer went up as Natsu pulled quickly away from Lucy and gave his dad a smile. "I have been asked to invite Councilman Makarov to the stage, I am told he has some important news to share with us."

Natsu turned to frown at Lucy, who shrugged her shoulders.

The tiny head of the Council had seemingly appeared from nowhere, Lucy couldn't recall seeing him earlier on in the evening.

"Thank you for that warm welcome, my old friend." Makarov smiled, his lips then seemed to be one of contempt as he steeled himself to announce his next words. "I have just received word from the Council of Elders..."

The room descended into a hushed whisper, guests wondering what was going on, Makarov held his hands up to silence everyone.

"I-It shocks me to say this, and I can't for the life of me understand why my fellow Members have voted for this...having been outvoted nine to three...I am obliged to announce the commencement of a new Phoenix Tournament."

Lucy suddenly felt her entire world shift from under her feet as Makarov shifted his eyes to the second Prince, the head of the Council looked truly sorry for what he was saying, as he met Natsu's eyes.

"Prince Natsu Dragneel is to chose an Empress." Makarov spoke tensely, gasps of shock and protest rang out around the room; most of those protests coming from the second Prince himself. "I have tried to contest it, but with such overwhelming odds in favour; I am sorry m'boy...I wish it were not this way."

Lucy had never seen such utter rage and refusal on Natsu's handsome face, his fists were clenched so tightly that his hands were turning white; flames of rage and heat danced in his eyes as he turned his eyes on to his father.

"What the hell? Did you do this?!" Natsu bellowed, making Lucy flinch and step away from him, her eyes wide.

She didn't think the enemy would vote to _force_ the Tournament on him, it wasn't right...how on earth was this supposed to teach him happiness and love when it was literally being ordered of him to submit and accept an Empress? Of course he would react this way...it was in his nature.

"I had nothing to do with this, son. I know you have no desire to settle down...but if the rest of the Council o-order it –" Igneel walked towards his angry son and tried to placate him.

"WHAT? I"M JUST SUPPOSED TO SIT AND WATCH AS WOMEN FIGHT IN SOME STUPID GAME TO TRY AND WIN MY AFFECTION?"

Lucy found a tear running down her cheek as Natsu turned to look at her, his dragon alerting him to her distress and calming him instantly.

"I-I refuse...I'll run if I damn well have to!" Natsu seethed, making Lucy gasp in surprise as he grabbed her hand and he ran with her from the ballroom; the blonde tripping over her dress as she had no idea where they were going.

Calls for them to stop rang out as Natsu led her into the castle courtyard, Lucy was out of breath as she felt her hand being let go; blistering heat and fire entered her vision as the pinkette suddenly Shifted into his Dragon-Form. Lucy looked up at the dragon as he reached out with his claws and wrapped around her waist.

"Natsu! W-What are you doing?" Lucy shrieked, panic entering her body as his wings unfolded.

With a startled scream, Natsu took off into the air at break-neck speed; causing Lucy's vision to go black as they ascended into the sky.

* * *

She gained consciousness again some time later, when she felt them descending from the clouds.

Lucy gasped as a familiar volcano came into view, her loose hair whipping about her face as her ears popped from the drop in air pressure. She was being cradled against his chest, his left claw holding her body tightly to his scaled underbelly as they touched down on the rocky ledge where they had first met.

Natsu immediately let her go, she wobbled on her feet for a moment before she felt the heat of him Shifting back into his human form. Lucy blushed when she saw him naked momentarily, before his normal black and white attire appeared back on his muscled body.

"I'm sorry, Luce...I should have warned ya...but I couldn't stay there." Natsu walked off into the cave, Lucy following behind him silently, her chest aching at the hurt and confusion on his face as he used his magic to start a fire. She picked up the skirt of her dress to try and stop it catching on the rocks and dust beneath her feet.

"Yeah, a warning would have been nice." Lucy huffed.

"S-Sorry...I just...panicked!" Natsu paced around the fire, still in shock.

"I-It's okay...you just surprised me is all...I'm not used to being kidnapped by the Dragon and taken to his secret hideout." Lucy smiled, she was trying to think of ways out of this, ways to try and placate him.

She might have had a clue if she had actually gotten to talk to Igneel.

"You haven't seen it all, c'mere." Natsu whispered, holding out his hand to her.

Lucy tilted her head in confusion as she was lead deeper into the cave, with a wave of his hand, removing some sort of mystical barrier; Lucy gasped.

Sat before her was a vast hoard of treasure, from jewellery to coins, furniture to fabrics; even a few dozen sacks of grains, seeds and rice were sitting piled up in one corner of this cave. Torches lit the walls, the reflection off the wares; where on earth he had gotten it all from, Lucy had no idea. She looked around at it all, before turning to Natsu with a smile.

"Did you buy these or acquire them by unscrupulous means?" Lucy asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I earned it all if that's what you mean...its my way of helping the Fire Lands out."

Shock hit her like a sucker punch...Natsu collected all this, to help restore his kingdom? He was selling his treasures to –

"You are selling your hoard to help restore your lands?" Lucy murmured, her eyes resting on Natsu, who walked towards a nearby chair and motioned for her to sit.

"I don't always just go off exploring, I take jobs like monster hunting, escorting nobles; heck I even helped a little old lady cook once." Natsu chuckled fondly, memories coming back to him as he walked around his sizable hoard. "I don't like just playing the part of the pampered Prince...I wanted to be out there doing more."

"Is it bad, I have a very funny mental image of you covered in soot with your head in someone's fireplace?" Lucy sat in the chair, her fingertips digging into the plush fabric of the chair.

"Wasn't quite that bad. You seem pretty underwhelmed for a girl seeing a hoard of treasure." Natsu teased, crossing his arms across the back of the chair, leaning over her with a grin.

"I'm not the kind of girl who gets starry eyed over trinkets and treasure...I'm more impressed with it's purpose." Lucy turned in the chair to look at him, her face turning sombre as she saw the humour in his eyes turn to sorrow; Natsu let go of the chair and began pacing again.

"What do I do, Luce? I don't want a stupid Tournament!"

Lucy bit at her lip, her hands wringing together nervously; she looked at the floor and tried to stop the guilt eating at her. She didn't notice Natsu looking at her, recognising the same look in her eyes as she had been wearing earlier on in the day.

"There you go again." Natsu strode towards her, he kneeled before her and used his fingertips to lift her chin, startled when he saw liquid pooling behind her big brown eyes. "You know something, don't you?"

It was at that moment her intuition was screaming at her to tell him what was going on, maybe if he knew the tournament was because of an enemy scheming to destroy the Council, who was trying to turn the Dragon Souls against their Shifters...maybe they could formulate a plan together. Maybe they could do something?

"W-What if I told you the Dragon God's sent for me in my dreams to warn me what was coming...would you believe me?" Lucy sniffed, pleading with him to trust her; his eyes widened and his eyes searched hers for any deception.

"Absolutely." Natsu whispered, using his thumb to stroke away a stray tear that ran down her cheek at his words. "You've never given me a reason not to."

"You didn't believe me about seeing the city in the sky." Lucy murmured.

"Yeah...that was me just being stubborn." Natsu chuckled. "You come from the Celestial Realm, of course only you would see city of Corona at night...dunno why it disappeared though. Back to your dream, tell me what happened..."

Lucy was momentarily tempted to hit him for making her think she was going crazy her first night in Ignis, but she took a deep breath and started explaining that she had dreamt of standing in a vast cave with eight Dragon's around her, the thunder Dragon, Voltres had explained that they were the Dragon Gods and had sent for her to warn her of what has to happen. She explained that there was a traitor in the Council of Elders, that someone had brought her here, who was also plotting to wipe them out, Lucy told him that the Tournament was being forced on him to try and trigger the darkness within him to possess his Dragon Soul, their goal was to get every Dragon Soul to turn on their Shifter. The enemy would try and turn him into a demon to destroy the Dragon Lands. Lucy would be forced to become Chosen to try and stop Natsu from opening himself to the darkness that plagued his dreams; she had been told she had to win in order to do this, becoming his Empress.

"I-It isn't fair you are being forced to do this, you should be able to choose for yourself who you want to be with." Lucy sighed, tears threatening to spill over and down her cheeks. "What are we going to do?"

"No one is gonna turn me or my Soul into a damn demon..." Natsu growled.

Natsu had listened to her entire story without interruption, his dragon was roaring in anger at the news that they had an enemy trying to destroy the bond between Shifter and Soul; trying to destroy the Council. The news that Lucy would be forced to become his Chosen had hit him hard, it didn't matter to him that he wanted her on a subconscious level; but to force her into it was despicable. Something that didn't sit right with him...he had no idea if she even felt anything for him!

"Why you, why have you been forced to become Chosen?" Natsu asked, no trace of emotion in his voice. "How are you supposed to help me, exactly?"

"T-They said I will teach you love, happiness and laughter...apparently our union was decided upon an eon ago." Lucy chuckled nervously, fully prepared for Natsu to recoil in disgust at the very idea that the two of them were meant to be together. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you...you don't deserve this!"

"Neither do you, Luce."

What she didn't expect was Natsu to lift her chin again, an eyebrow raised at her in jest.

"Although...if we're supposed to be mates, that explains why my dragon likes you so much, Luce."

Lucy watched flabbergasted as Natsu stood up and pulled her to her feet, she squeaked in surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her crown. She found herself wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him tightly, thoroughly confused.

"What...you just accept the news we are meant to be? I thought you hated the idea of settling down?" Lucy murmured against his neck.

"I'm not thrilled at it...but if it's you I settle down with I might be open to it." Natsu chuckled huskily. "You make me happy, smile, I can't get enough of teasing you; I look forward to seeing you everyday...I don't think it's quite love yet...but I'm not afraid of it."

Lucy found tears springing to her eyes again, she snickered when she pulled away from Natsu to find his cheeks pink and an adorable bashful smile on his face.

"Is that you or the dragon talking?"

"Both of us..."

"I-I'm not in love with you yet either...but you make me laugh, cry and sometimes I wanna punch you in the face." Lucy chuckled as his face went blank. "But I like you too."

Natsu grinned sneakily at her and leaned in to press a wet and sloppy kiss to her cheek, Lucy shuddered and made to wipe at her face; shooting him a glare.

"Did you just slobber on me?!" She shrieked, trying to wiggle out of his strong arms; to no avail.

"Nah...I'm not a dog." Natsu laughed riotously, letting go of the annoyed blond, who wiped at the wet spot on her left cheek with the back of her hand, the pinkette stood watching her with a cheeky grin. "I kissed ya."

"Could have fooled me! That was not a kiss..." Lucy grumbled, pouting adorably.

"Okay...second order of business, we need to speak with my dad; he should be able to help." Natsu turned to grasp hold of her hand, making Lucy smile secretively as she was lead out of the secret treasure hoard; watching in awe as he reactivated the barrier.

"Only my magic can unseal it...stops bandits and thieves helping themselves."

"You said the second...what's the first order of business?" Lucy asked, her head tilted in confusion; watching him as his cheeks turned pink and his heated eyes drifted to her parted lips.

Lucy gasped in surprise as he leaned in to her, their breath mingling just as it had done during their dance earlier in the evening. Except this time, there were no interruptions; no one to stop them as Natsu gently pressed his lips to hers. Liquid heat began to warm her from the inside out, her eyes fluttering closed as his left hand grasped her waist; right cupping her cheek. He could feel his inner dragon purring happily within him, telling Natsu he was an idiot to have resisted this; because this felt like coming home.

They fit one another perfectly, her delicate hands looping around the back of his neck, pulling him in further to deepen the kiss. The purring got louder and Lucy suddenly pulled away reluctantly.

"You purr?" she huffed softly, delighting in his hazy eyes and content features.

"Yeah...gotta problem with that?" Natsu glowered in mock challenge.

"Nope...you're like a cat."

"I'm not a cat, I'm a fearsome fire Dragon!"

"Sure you are." Lucy cooed, laughing at his grumpy expression as she patted his head gently.

* * *

**Some interesting conversations and plans to come...see you soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer than planned delay in posting the new chapter, here in the UK we have gone back into lockdown again so things have gotten busy again for me. This chapter and 9 are in two parts and the second will be posted this weekend. I also wanted to reply to a few comments in the reviews, I am sorry if this seems rushed, Natsu and Lucy have kissed but they won't be waltzing off into the sunset anytime soon, the kiss was more of comfort/thank you. There is going to be a slow build up in this, i mainly write straight to the point smut so I'm slowing down a bit in this. Also about the tag being Edolas Lucy, the Lucy in this story is the main Lucy, she was concieved in Earthland and only raised in Edolas. Sorry for any confusion there. But anyhoo without any more rambling, heres chapter 8!

* * *

**Dr** **agon Souls – Chapter 8 – A Veil of Secrets - Part One**

The journey back through the skies of the Fire Lands had been a smoother and all round more pleasant one.

Lucy had been doubled over, inspecting a rip in the fabric of her fancy ball-gown; when the heat and brightness of Natsu's transformation into Dragon-Form had caught her attention, to her utmost surprise the red Dragon had lowered itself to the floor.

Neck laid on the ground, indicating the Prince wanted her to sit at the base of his neck; riding on his back. Lucy had the sudden feeling of warmth from this gesture, as though the handsome Shifter was not one to offer this honour to just anyone.

"A-Are you sure?" She asked the beast, who snorted in amusement; a moment later she heard Natsu's voice in her head.

" _Just get on Luce, or I'll dangle you from the tail again."_

"You wouldn't _dare_." Lucy huffed, hitching up her dress and climbing onto the dragon's back, settling in comfortably; although her legs were exposed far too much for her liking, for having him between her thighs –

 _No! Bad Lucy..._ she scolded herself, finding her cheeks turning red as her mind conjured images that weren't...bad...just embarrassing.

Damn it!

Now, Lucy wasn't exactly a flustered virgin, but she was very private in her intimate affairs and had rarely spoken about it or given her few sexual encounters much thought.

As the two flew through the late evening air, the shadowed scenery dashed by; her eyes had slid out of focus after trying and failing to take in the view below, without the feeling of motion sickness creeping into her stomach. Lucy instead chose to focus on the warmth of Natsu's Dragon-Form beneath her, the smooth and glistening scales bringing her comfort and security; she should have been terrified to be soaring high above the ground at great speed, but she felt nothing but serenity and security.

The castle at Ignis was an impressive sight to behold when arriving on foot, but by air; it was another matter entirely.

Lucy had never paid much attention to the roof before, but seeing it in the darkness of the late evening air; the tiles glistened. She watched, mesmerised as each turret twinkled like tiny stars, red and orange hues served as a beacon to Natsu and Lucy as they descended from the clouds; craning her neck to watch, almost leaning too far off of her perch.

"Why is the roof shimmering?" Lucy asked loudly, her voice struggling to carry on the wind.

She was glad that Natsu's Dragon-Form was so toasty, the cold evening air rushing passed her would have had her freezing her ass off. As pretty as her gown was, it was not at all practical for riding.

Although she doubted the finest tailor who had made the dress had imagined it's wearer would be soaring through the skies astride the neck of a fearsome Dragon...

" _It's a type of crystal, it helps Dragons to locate Ignis at night. We have great vision in the day, even better at night; but our eyes zone in on so many things at once as a Dragon it helps us focus."_

Well that made sense, Lucy knew Dragon senses were more animalistic; it was probably hard to keep focused when your heightened senses were being overloaded with sights, smells and the like.

The castle looked extremely imposing at night, had she been arriving for the first time she might have been alarmed. Landing quietly in the main courtyard, Lucy swung her legs over the Dragon's neck and hopped down to the stone floor; a flash of flame and heat later and she felt Natsu's comforting presence behind her. The double doors were quick to open, a familiar figure came rushing out; followed by several members of the Royal Court.

Igneel was striding towards them, his bodyguards following behind. Gajeel, Loke and Levy were the next in the group with Wendy running behind them. Zeref and Mavis were last but not least.

"Are you both alright?" Igneel asked hurriedly, pulling his son into his embrace with one arm, and side hugging Lucy with the other. "The second Prince running from his own party caused quite a stir. You're lucky your guests know you well enough not to be offended and leave."

"I'm sorry for worrying you...Luce talked some sense into me." Natsu smiled.

The Dragon Lord briefly glanced across to the blond, who looked conflicted in her pretty brown eyes for just a moment before she smiled kindly at Natsu's father.

"She did?" Igneel raised an eyebrow at his youngest son.

"Yeah...Dad we need to talk...privately." Natsu gave Lucy a glance and then gave his father a pointed look.

Igneel looked alarmed for a moment before the Dragon Lord nodded to the group behind him in dismissal, Lucy watched Atlas and Metalicana simply nod back; turning to usher the group back into the castle. When they were alone, just the three of them; Igneel turned to his son.

"Let's use my chambers, we shall not be disturbed there."

* * *

Dragon Lord Igneel's chambers were far less grand than Lucy expected, given his status as a ruler of an entire kingdom; while impressive in a humble and inviting way, she had imagined scenes of sumptuous grandeur.

The Royal Chambers consisted of a single, large rectangular room with a vaulted ceiling and arched windows; more like a living room than a space for entertaining. This was obviously Igneel's own little slice of solitude and relaxation. There was a wooden door with iron hinges that led to his bedroom and a modest bathroom, a rustic stone fireplace with a granite mantle warmed the room and bathed the cluttered but homely space in an inviting golden glow.

A large fur rug sat under a seating area in front of the fire, a coffee table was stacked with books and papers; before the two sofas made of an animal hide she had not seen before. Every available surface, including Igneel's desk seemed to hold scrolls, manuscripts and letters; the room smelled of spices and the logs burning merrily in the hearth. The Lord himself sat before them in a tufted brown armchair with arms so worn in, it was obvious the man spent much of his times at this heavy oak desk.

"What do you wish to discuss with me?" Igneel steepled his fingers together, giving them a contemplative look. It was perhaps the first time that Lucy had seen the man looking so serious, normally a kind and jovial man, his eyes were guarded and emotionless. His wrinkles were creased in worry and trepidation, rather than joy and laughter; something that did not suit the kindly man at all.

Lucy had been momentarily distracted by a finely woven tapestry that hung over the fireplace, what looked like a scene of an ancient battle; silk spun into a thrilling confrontation of two Dragons. Snarling angrily at one another, claws and teeth bared and ready to fight to the death.

She shook her head briefly and immediately began to regale the story she had told Natsu earlier in the evening, explaining carefully what she had seen in her dream; what the Dragon Gods had told her and what was to come. Igneel, just like his youngest son; did not utter a single sound as he listened to Lucy speak. Although his mouth did twitch up in triumph at the red cheeks of Natsu's face as Lucy told them about being destined to be together.

"Well...anyone could see that you two are soulmates...you need a kind-hearted, brave and adventurous mate, not a prim and proper Lady of the Court."

"Yeah yeah...lap it up." Natsu drawled, his annoyance overshadowed by the grin he gave Lucy as she giggled airily.

"The news of a traitor within the Council, however while troubling; does not surprise me." Igneel spoke tensely.

"That's why we came to you, Luce and I have no idea what to do 'bout this." Natsu sighed, giving the blond a small frown. "I hated the idea of settling down with a quiet wallflower with no dreams or ambitions...I want someone to challenge me, grow with me and stand beside me. Yeah...I'm not ready to exchange vows or anything...but there is no way in hell that Luce will battle to the death for me...or anyone else."

Lucy wasn't quite sure how her legs were still holding her up, after the reverence in his words; if he hadn't been holding her, she would have melted into a puddle of poufy lace and silk on Igneel's fine rug.

Natsu really, truly meant every word, she could feel it in his heartbeat; strong and steadily pulsing in time with hers in a syncopated rhythm.

"Let me speak with Makarov, while I have many friends and allies in the Council; that man is perhaps the only one I would trust with this matter. I have no doubt he has his suspicions about fowl play being involved. For now let us not worry about this, you both should return and enjoy the rest of the party; I shall be along shortly."

Natsu thanked his father, while Lucy bowed in respect; Igneel scoffed and motioned for her to rise, such a display of propriety was not needed. The two of them walked away, shutting the door behind them; Igneel sighed and rubbed at his weary eyes, before he smiled.

"I'm impressed your stealth skills have developed so vastly that your own brother did not sense you." Igneel spoke softly into the room, his bedroom door opened swiftly; revealing a figure cloaked in darkness for a moment before his eldest son came strolling into the room. His boots padded silently along the floor as he stood strong and firm before his father.

"You are wise and strong, I could never hope to fool you father. You wish for me to keep an eye on things?" Zeref chuckled humorously, arms crossed and interest showing on his handsome face.

"Only you would find those words amusing." Igneel groaned at the joke, pain flaring through his body at his son's horrific past.

"I have made peace with what happened, while I wish with all my heart to gaze upon my beautiful Mavis's face, see how my brother has grown or even look upon those kind eyes of a loving father; I am thankful that my other senses have enabled me an advantage others do not. What are your orders, father?"

Igneel reached into the innermost depths of his mind and opened his thoughts across the room to reach his son.

' _For now keep a low profile, I do not wish your cover blown, it is of no use if our plans are discovered. Do you have any new information?'_

' _Well...apart from a dozen arguments between Anna and Jude about my eventual sister-to-be; I have discovered some rather amusing information about Councilman Hyberion.'_

"What on Earthland have you discovered about our dear Hyberion?" Igneel returned to audible speech, amusement in his eyes.

"He's been reorganising Warrod's plant collection in alphabetised order...its been driving him mad."

Igneel boomed with laughter, wiping a tear from his eye.

"That man is a demon when he holds a grudge, I tell you."

* * *

Lucy found her arm tightening around Natsu's as they walked back into the hall later that evening, after their very dramatic exit just a few hours prior. She was feeling self conscious from the curious glances they were receiving, as they passed through the crowd, but no one seemed to mean ill will.

Until she caught the eyes belonging to a single scowling face, a black haired man that was dressed finely in a fur lined blue jacket; exquisitely embroidered with silver lapels and sleeve cuffs, the look on his face was directed entirely at her.

"That's Silver Fullbuster...he's a foul tempered and selfish Lord who rules his frozen kingdom with an iron fist and an icy heart. He thinks his subjects as nothing more than slaves to order about. I feel sorry for his kingdom, Gray deserves to rule, not him." Natsu murmured quietly in her ear, his warm breath making her shiver in delight.

"Is the scowl permanent feature or does he don it for special occasions?" Lucy whispered back.

"Permanent...think the wind changed while he was taking a dump and his expression stayed like that." Lucy grimaced, not needing that mental image at all..."He's a walking, talking pile of Dragon shit. His son is a bit of an idiot sometimes, but Frosty Nips is okay."

"Is that a hint of rivalry I detect?" Lucy teased, prodding a finger into his side.

"Fire and Ice are natural opposites...just don't tell him I think he's a decent guy...got a reputation to uphold."

"Do we have to greet Lord Silver." Lucy shuddered uncomfortably.

"He's here purely for propriety sake, my old man would never invite him otherwise, but even worse; he's sitting at our table."

Natsu pressed a kiss to her temple, trying to placate the disgust on her beautiful face at the thought of being seated near this vile man. Silver was looking at her like she was scum stuck to the bottom of his shiny leather boots. Instead of saying or doing something that could potentially come back to haunt her; Lucy forced a smile onto her face and reminded herself of her surroundings and why she was here.

This was Natsu's birthday and causing any further scene would ruin the jovial occasion. This world was entirely different than her own and her smart mouth and wisecracks could cause great offence that might jeopardise her desire to remain here.

Little did the blond know however, causing a scene; was exactly what the Dragon Lord of the Frost Realm was planning...

* * *

The ball was in full swing, the music was melodious and upbeat; performers were perched on square plinths in various positions in the room. Brightly dressed in reds and golds for the occasion and entertaining guests with juggling and contortionism.

Natsu did not stray from her side once, something Lucy was grateful for; as she was escorted around the ballroom by his warm hand, exchanging introductions and pleasantries with various persons of nobility and friends of the Dragneel Clan. The two not quite yet lovers had settled into a comfortable ease with one another, an unspoken understanding had been reached between them.

While Lucy was hardly ready to even entertain the idea of exchanging vows and waltzing off into the sunset with her fiery Prince, the care and concern he showed her left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. They had kissed yes, and it had been absolutely wonderful; but she sensed a hesitance in Natsu that mirrored her own to move into a relationship just yet.

They had more pressing concerns right now.

Suddenly, the music stopped; Lord Igneel announced that it was time to eat. Lucy giggled when Natsu and several of her new friends and acquaintances cheered loudly.

"Let us drink like King's and feast like the Gods!" Igneel boomed to riotous cheers.

Natsu pulled her to the top table at the far end of the room.

"Dad's table is full of important people so –"

"You should try and behave then?" Lucy winked, making Natsu raise an eyebrow at her in jest.

"I'm not the one with the smart mouth Luigi."

"Just the lack of table manners."

He couldn't help but grin cheekily at her airy laughter, glad she was feeling happier. Igneel's table was spectacular; humongous platters of delicious foods, snacks and desserts greeted them, as did the guests already seated at the table. Several servers waltzing by with flagons of beer, ale and wine.

The man himself was laughing at a joke Makarov had apparently told before Natsu and Lucy arrived; he soon turned to smile at the two of them.

"You're both right next to me." Igneel motioned to the two empty seats to his left, Zeref and Mavis were seated to his right; both smiling kindly at Natsu and Lucy. The second Prince showed his chivalrous side by seating Lucy before himself, she thanked him as he sat next to her by squeezing him on the knee.

"Now, Lucy my dear...you've met Councilman Makarov, Anna and Erza Scarlet. Next to our esteemed leader of the Knights of Valour, is Silver Fullbuster; Dragon Lord of the Frost Realm, our nearest neighbour. Next to him is his son Prince Gray Fullbuster."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you both." Lucy smiled and bowed politely, to which Gray smiled and returned the greeting in kind. Silver, however, looked as though he hadn't heard her; so Igneel diverted the conversation elsewhere.

"I must say m'boy...where is your lovely Empress to be, Julia was it?" Igneel asked, making polite conversation with their guests.

"Juvia, actually...she isn't exactly my Empress to be yet –"

"What my son is trying to say is there is still the final stage of the tournament to go, Juvia is the favourite to win...only the finest of lookers and of the highest nobility is good enough for my son." Silver interrupted, thumping his son on the back so hard; Gray choked on his drink.

"Y-Yeah...she is smart, ambitious and very...assertive."

Lucy could see the younger Fullbuster did not share the same views, mannerisms or brutish nature as his father. There was an old saying in Edolas, that the apple never rots far from the tree; but in this case, tree was the rotten one not the apple. The only likeness Silver and his handsome son seemed to share was looks and their blood.

"Once you are married boy, she is to be nothing more than a pretty trinket to dangle from your arm, you will stamp down her inappropriate behav –"

"You would do well to not underestimate the power of a strong woman, Silver. The deadly grace and sharp mind of a woman can fell the strongest armies, when angered they can summon the harshest storm; perhaps you grow ignorant the leader of our fiercest army is sitting right next to you?" Makarov spoke in warning.

"Do you question my prowess?" Erza breathed dangerously. "I would be happy to offer a demonstration by calling a Blood Feud."

A Blood Feud was a Draconian fight to the death, an ancient duel between Dragons to prove who was the stronger. Lucy was slightly terrified, evidently so was Silver. Natsu gave Lucy a sly grin and she smiled in return, giggling quietly as the icy Lord paled and promptly quietened. She reached over to grab some sandwiches from one of the platters of food, while Natsu scarfed down food as though it were going out of fashion; much to no ones surprise.

"A toast...to second Prince Natsu, many happy returns!" Makarov lifted his large flagon of wine, followed by several more dozen raised vessels and shouts of happy birthday and the like.

Lucy felt a pair of eyes on her again and soon found the cause...Silver. He looked disgruntled, bored and disgusted to be put in his place; wanting to be anywhere but here.

"So Anna...how is Lady Lucy's training in the Celestial arts going?" Makarov asked, turning to face the older blond.

"Very well...I have never met a more determined student. Lady Lucy has progressed –"

" _Lady_ Lucy?" Silver scoffed. "Forgive my ignorance Councilwoman Anna but just how does a lowly commoner from the exiled cesspool of humanity come to be called a Lady of the Royal Court? Did you adopt a stray, Igneel?"

Lucy had mentally prepared herself for this man's barbed tongue earlier in the evening, but it seemed Natsu did not have the same sense of self control; the guttural growl of warning was made to threaten the stronger male, Dragon to Dragon, heat rising to blistering levels suddenly before Igneel shook his head.

It was unwise to challenge him or fuel his ire, but Igneel would not let Silvers forked tongue poison the mood further; he opened his mouth to speak, but Lucy got to him first.

In her years of dealing with creeps and bull-headed pigs, Lucy had learned to remain calm and poised; more often that not it was biting words and a veiled threat that won the battle, not violence.

So she smiled sweetly at the vile man.

"Your ignorance and forked tongue are forgiven, Lord Silver; though your unpleasant attitude is not entirely welcomed during this joyous occasion. If you didn't already know I am Lady Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Councilman Jude Heartfilia, former Dragon Lord of the Celestial Realm. I am the charge of the esteemed Councilwoman Anna Heartfilia who has kindly offered to teach me the magic of my birth right. Once again it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

Natsu found himself beaming with pride at Lucy's perfectly amicable tone, if a little deadly. There was an air of terrifying grace with how she was standing up for herself; such a feat he had only witnessed in four other women.

Mavis, Anna, Erza and Mira.

However while these four women left him terrified with a single stern glance, Lucy's left him (and his Dragon Soul) wanting to drag her into his arms to kiss her senseless; his Soul however was wanting to leap across the table and tear the snobbish bastard limb from limb.

He was very much in agreement with his inner beast...if he wasn't so eager to watch Lucy tear him down with her biting wit first!

" _Really_? I was under the impression that Jude has no heirs...apparent when he gave his birth right to a drunkard imbecile with no sense of decorum." Silver glared, not liking being challenged.

"The only imbecile with no decorum is you, you overgrown man-child. My brother was forced to banish my dear nieces mother Layla in order to take his throne from our strict father. Jude had no idea his beloved was carrying his youngling, if he had he would have stopped it in a heartbeat. While my brother still mourns his mates death he feels himself unable to let Lucy into his shattered heart, or claim her as his. I do however, so as my charge you shall show her the respect she deserves."

"Lady Lucy is a kind, caring young woman who has shown great respect and curiosity for our world; I am honoured to have her here as our esteemed guest." Igneel added proudly.

"So you are nothing more than a spawn of a disgraced Lord and a common woman...no more a noble than a lowly peasant."

"Listen here you bast –" Natsu seethed and got to his feet, face rippling with red scales and eyes full of hatred. Lucy was quick to place a soothing hand on his arm and a shake of her head.

"You're just gonna let this piece of –"

"No...I won't let the vile vitriol of a despicable barbarian wound me. My mother was the most wonderful woman I ever knew as a child and my father loved her very much; so much so his heart shattered into a million pieces when she was banished. While I do not think highly of my father, I accept there may be no more room in the little left of his broken heart; to allow him to love his daughter. I think far less of a man with no respect and thinks others beneath him, nor deserves the honour and responsibility given to him; I do not deserve such slander, if you feel I do then kindly remove yourself from my presence."

"You do NOT belong here, Halfling!" Silver stammered.

"Well I am here to stay...get the fuck over it."

Silence and awe befell the table as Silver Fullbuster turned the shade of a tomato at being spoken to so bluntly.

"Come, boy...we are leaving." Silver hissed at his son.

"I'm staying right here..." Gray raised an eyebrow at his father. "You should go home and work on your appalling character...I'll come back when I'm not ashamed to be your son."

Lucy felt a crippling fear in her gut, worried she had gone too far; tears in her eyes as Silver got to his feet and turned to Igneel.

"I-I thank you, Lord Igneel for your hospitality." Silver stomped away, bringing the entire ballroom to a complete standstill. Lucy didn't know whether to laugh or cry as several boos and cheers rung out as left.

"That was the best thing I've ever seen." Gray spoke dryly, thoroughly impressed.

"But...I just –"

"Yeah...you really tore my old man a new one...but he deserved it, he had no right to speak to you like that." Gray frowned.

"Is he always so rude?" Lucy asked, extremely relieved to have not offended the Prince of the neighbouring kingdom too.

"He didn't used to be, my mom left five years ago; he grew cold, ruthless and rude."

"Lets hope he changes himself for the better." Igneel sighed.

"Are you alright?" Natsu murmured and grasped her shaking hand in his, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand.

"I'm fine, thank you Natsu."

* * *

"Thank you for seeing me, Sir."

"Of course my boy, I take it your endeavours have been rewarded?"

"It seems our suspicion of who is behind this has come to fruition. We must send for the girl from Edolas for questioning."

"That halfwit is hardly the mastermind behind this...it seems more like she was bought off for her cooperation."

"So it may seem, boy. I have used my scrying mirror to watch this human and she has neither the wit or means to do this alone."

"Three days in the Gaol should loosen her tongue."

"Setting a few Dragon-Guard outside of her cell should loosen her tongue even more."

"By how much?"

"Seventy one hours, fifty nine minutes and exactly thirty seconds."

* * *

Later that evening, Lucy sat at her desk; eagerly filling in page after page in a large tome with blank parchment. She had been gifted it by Levy in order to record her memories and an accurate portrayal of the human world, Edolas. She had tried briefly to accompany her words on the basics of how electricity worked, but gave up when all she could produce was a wonky stick man; holding a lightbulb.

Maybe that was why she was more adept at the written word, and not an artist.

While the Dragon Lands had an abundance of Lacrima Crystal that gave off a bioluminescent glow, in significant quantities might mimic the effects of electric light; she had come to learn through her studies that this crystal was a prized commodity, mostly used in jewellery or statues because of its beauty. Using it for something such as a common light source would no doubt reduce it's value and significance.

Lucy finished writing and placed her quill back into her inkwell, leaving the book open to allow the brown ink to dry before she closed it; she had sent the book to a local Leather worker to have the cover embossed with its title.

"'Edolas: A Curated Tale of A Forbidden World...by Lucy Heartfilia'"

It was hard not to feel saddened by the knowledge that even one person did not heed her welcome to this world, for in this place she felt more at home; surrounded by myth come alive and a simpler way of life, much more homely and inviting than a large city with unfriendly snobs. She would trade Edolas and all its glamour for this world in a heartbeat, even the vitriol of one man would not be enough to sway her stay. Lucy wondered what had happened to Silver in his past, to make him such a shell of a man; Gray had briefly explained his mother had left, but there seemed to be far more to the harrowing tale than that. Lucy and her new friends had spent much of the remainder of the ball crowded round their own few tables, pushed together; drinks flowing and laughter and grand tales being shared.

Igneel and his close personal friends had all drunk themselves into a merry stupor; loudly trading old Draconian shanties and flyting for fun. The younger and more hardy of the men had challenged each other to an arm wrestling contest.

To no ones surprise, Erza Scarlet won.

The friends had laughed, drunk and enjoyed various high jinx and games long into the early morning; Lucy having dozed off against Natsu's shoulder somewhere around the second bell toll of the tower.

Her head had been a little sore the next morning, but the good memories she had made last eve would stay with her for years to come.

Nothing could spoil her happiness, as she almost skipped merrily down to breakfast the next morning; smiling as she entered the oddly quiet ballroom for breakfast. Lucy was about to wish everyone a good morning, when her eyes fell on those of a tense and worried Igneel.

Had something happened while she was asleep?

"What's wrong, Lord Igneel?"

"You have a visitor."

She tilted her head in confusion, sensing someone standing behind her; thinking it was a surprise visit by Anna, Lucy turned to greet her with a smile.

While the blondish-silver hair was virtually identical to the older woman, the wire rimmed spectacles, haggard face and cold eyes; were not those that belonged to her beloved Aunt.

"F-Father?"

* * *

**Yikes...just what does Jude want? And to answer some theories, no the bad guy/girl isn't Zeref! See you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wohoo i'm on time for once! This chapter litterally wrote itself, and ended up much longer than part one. Loving you guy's reaction to Lucy owning Silver! We will find out what Jude wants in chapter 10. But for now, here is chapter 9...buckle up its a bumpy ride!

**Dragon Soul – Chapter 9 – A Veil of Secrets – Part 2**

She was supposed to be halfway across the continent by now, basking in the south coast Edolas sun; with a skinny margarita in hand and starting a new life.

Away from her shitty past, the city of sin and false dreams and most importantly of all; away from all memory of Lucy _freaking_ Ashley.

Instead of tanning in a designer bikini and flirting with cute and loaded guys, she was sitting in a drab and dingy diner, just off the inter-continental expressway; thirty minutes south of the Royal City not far from Oracion National Park, oddly enough. Luckily the beater car she had bought had made it here; on the little jewel she had left to pay for gas.

Why was she sitting in this dreary place, with it's flimsy plastic furniture, paper napkins and dirty floor; you might ask?

Because Michelle Lobster was waiting on her contact to show up and hand her a fat holdall of cash, paying for her little part in the tragic and very odd disappearance of her silly little cousin; hush money for her cooperation and her silence.

She hadn't thought to ask what kind of trouble her _dear_ cousin had gotten herself into, nor did she really care; Michelle was just in it for the money. Although being questioned in police custody hadn't been fun, it was easy to fool them; she knew how to pull off a good lie or two, she had years to practice her skills of deceit and manipulation.

With no evidence, two witness testimonies and a perfectly plausible explanation, Michelle had been released with no charges brought against her; the couple who had seen what had happened confirming her story. Lucy had wanted to look down at the water, gotten too close to the cliff edge and the rock had given way beneath her boots; Michelle had screamed for her dear cousin as she plummeted towards the water. Two hikers just behind them had seen everything, the middle aged woman had called the authorities on her cell phone, consoling a heartbroken brunette; while the husband has run back to the reception to get help.

A tragic accident, it was labelled.

More like a cover up, because the two witnesses had been on the payroll of exactly the same person that she was. Whoever it was who wanted Lucy gone had made damn good sure the cops wouldn't come sniffing, even though the beautiful, but strange young woman had made front page news for a few days.

The only thing that she didn't quite understand, was that after a forty eight hour search, they never found a body. According to reports there was a network of underground cave systems and caverns under the lake, no one had any idea where they led; divers had gotten so far in and had to turn back for safety concerns. Scientists had dyed the water, even tried a tracker to see where the system of caves led; but they never got an answer.

With no idea where she could be and no one able to search for her, Lucy was promptly forgotten about, her cousin became yesterdays news.

A very odd mystery indeed, but not that she cared; Michelle would probably have pushed the perfect little _princess_ off a cliff for no money at all...

With the promise of ten million jewel on the way, cash in hand so as not to leave a trail; Michelle was looking forward to getting the hell away from the false world of money, parties and glamour. The Royal City had lost it's appeal, among many reasons.

To put a very long, long story short...she had owed some very bad people a lot of money. Luckily her skills in sweet talking had taken her off their hit list; eight hundred thousand jewel in cash and her promise to skip town and never show her pretty face in the city of sin again...it was a deal they couldn't refuse.

Michelle had quit her job, not that she really did much anyways; although the running joke about Lucy being picked up by little green men and taken home, had caused a few laughs around the office. With no real friends, except perhaps Lucy's annoying brat of a boss, Jason; no one really felt guilty making fun of her disappearance. Jason, the freak; had actually shed a few tears when news of La-La Lucy's disappearance had reached his ears, the one behind the appeal in the Bugle for information; but nothing came of it.

Reaching a perfectly manicured hand into her expensive designer purse, Michelle found her compact mirror. After checking her flawless makeup was still in place, she huffed an annoyed sigh and returned the mirror to her purse.

This mystery person had better show up soon with her damn money, as if the seedy place wasn't giving her enough of the creeps; a fat and balding truck driver sitting several tables down from her, had been leering at her from the second her expensive boots had stuck to the patchy lino floor of the diner.

Ick...

Staring passed her reflection in the window, she watched a tattily dressed woman exiting the passenger side of a run down estate car; slamming the door and immediately lighting a cigarette. Obviously a well seasoned smoker, the woman took barely five long inhales of grey smoke; before the butt was tossed aside into a rain puddle by the door of the diner. The generic sound of a bell rung above the door, the redhead shook droplets of rain from her belted paper thin trench coat as she approached the counter. Exchanging smiles with the old man serving the diner, it was obvious from their tone that this woman was a regular here.

It had become pretty obvious to the brunette that this place was a regular haunt of Red's type, from the scantily dressed females hanging about the place; picking up long haul truckers and clients, making a quick buck in exchange for a good time.

Red slipped the man a folded jewel note and went off towards a far table on the other end of the floor, unbelting her coat and sitting down on the chair facing her direction. It wasn't this woman who she was supposed to be meeting...then again, Michelle had no idea if it was a man or a woman turning up.

She raised an eyebrow as she got a good look at the redheads outfit. Thin and frail looking, she could have been anywhere from thirty to fifty; it was hard to tell at this distance. Red was wearing a hand customised band t shirt, bearing the name of a punk band that had been the height of popularity around thirty years ago; a leopard print mini skirt, ripped fishnets and lace up boots completed the look. Hair the colour of artificially dyed rust was styled into a frizzy mess, pencil thin black eyebrows, shocking green eyeshadow and bright pink lips certainly made for an...interesting combination.

Red looked like a band groupie who hadn't grown out of her youth, that band had stopped touring when their hair turned grey a decade or so ago!

She was sitting with her assets on show, staking out her next 'client' or maybe she was done offering her services for the day. Oh...Michelle knew her type well, because her cold and calculating birth mother had been in the same business...the oldest job in the world.

Those memories came back to haunt her the longer she stared at the woman, a lonely childhood of having to find her own dinner cause mom was out earning jewel by any means she could; just to put a basic roof over their heads. The roughest neighbourhood in town wasn't the most ideal place to raise a daughter, but it was cheap. Michelle didn't hate her mother for what she did, but her mother had not been a kind woman; almost seeing her young girl as a burden, an extra mouth to feed in a hard way of life.

And damn it, her mother reminded her every single day...

At nine years old, Michelle had grown used to her mothers routine; Martina went to work during the day, it wasn't as good pay as working the 'night shift'; but it worked for their situation. Michelle would go to school, come home and then try and make something edible with the scraps or leftovers in the fridge; mom would get home around six that evening, and either drink herself to sleep or collapse on the threadbare sofa from exhaustion.

Until one day...Martina didn't come home.

She hadn't known what to do, sitting on the sofa for hours; until a friend of her mothers had come knocking the next day, found a tearful little girl huddled on the sofa, and called the police. At least someone had cared enough to check on them, was worried enough to visit; because Michelle didn't want to think what would have happened to her if she had been alone for a long period of time.

Scared, confused and wanting her mommy, she remembered being taken to the police station; being given a juice box and a chocolate bar, where a female officer had smiled at her sadly. No child deserved to know their only known relative had been found lifeless behind a dumpster...a mugging gone bad, they had said.

Mommy wouldn't be coming home...but in some way she felt relieved.

Michelle had been placed into the care of a friend of the kind female officer, who had held her as she cried over her lost mother. Auntie Layla, as the young orphan had come to call her, had a daughter two years younger than Michelle; her name was Lucy.

They weren't blood related, but as a kids they didn't care. Lucy was her first real friend, even if Michelle was insanely jealous of the younger girl.

While no better off really than before, Layla and Lucy gave the sad young girl something she had never experienced before...compassion, care and love. Layla could barely afford to feed one child, let alone two; but she tried as hard as she could.

But that wasn't enough for Michelle.

Call her greedy and selfish, but she wanted to live the high life; to be rich and never have to worry about where the next meal was coming from. So she became a problem child, petty theft, stealing small items to trade for chump change, she didn't care when Layla got into trouble for her crimes; she soon honed the ability to manipulate those around her to her advantage. Michelle wasn't smart, but she was cunning; a few crocodile tears and a sad sob story and she was always let off.

On the flip side of the coin, Lucy Ashley was the perfect well behaved princess. A dreamer with her head in the clouds, but smart and cute as a button; Lucy never did a single thing wrong, no matter how many times Michelle tried to involve her in her schemes.

Michelle hated her for that, Lucy was too pure; she was too young to know her mom Layla couldn't handle her new friend.

Eventually, Layla had had enough; couldn't cope with her foster daughter any longer. Tossed aside like a tarnished penny, Michelle was moved from home to home; unwanted for her deviance. One day, however, a rich family from the Royal City had come along and taken ten year old Michelle, and whisked her away from a life of poverty. The fifty something couple had always longed for a daughter, but after years of trying; had looked to adoption. Buying Michelle's affection with everything she could ever want, she didn't even look back as she was walked to the handsome town car and into a new life.

All she had to do was call these rich suckers 'Mama' and 'Dada' and they melted in warmth.

She fitted into the life of the pampered only daughter of a wealthy couple, rich from their insurance empire; selling policies for everything from holiday to life insurance. They lived in an affluent mansion high on the hills of the Royal City, surrounded by millionaires, movie stars and even a foreign and wealthy Prince. Michelle went to the most prestigious school in the city, fitting right in with the pampered and entitled rich kids who were also due to inherit their parent's fortunes. She was popular, bitchy and had a string of boys wanting to date her; she never gave her old life another thought.

It was several years later that she learned of aunt Layla's untimely death, overworked and tired to the bone; the letter from her cousin had said. Michelle had shed a tear for her foster mother, even offered her condolences; but then had forgotten it from her mind.

Sometimes she and Lucy exchanged the odd email, even if Michelle only used it to brag about her new life; to remind her cousin what she didn't have.

Sadly her life of luxury had come to a rather swift and unexpected end, when at eighteen; her parents were arrested for fraud and sent down for years. Something about swindling investors out of millions via an insurance scam, their money and all assets had been frozen; all evidence of proceeds of crime. Michelle had been thankful not to be associated with their crimes, but she had lost the life she had come to love and the extravagant lifestyle she desperately longed for; resenting her parents for being stupid enough to leave her helpless and with almost nothing. Michelle had helped herself to any items of value she could get her hands on, before the police could seize anything from her useless parents house; hiding small items like jewellery and cash in hard to think of places, to sell on later if she was short on jewel. Michelle disowned them, for abandoning her.

She had been also been forced to get a job, but no one wanted to hire her at first.

Flirting her way into it by batting her eyelashes at the sleaze ball editor of the Royal Bugle had been easy enough, no matter that she had no idea how to be a receptionist; but she soon learned on the job.

By day she answered the busy phone lines, arranged meetings and gossiped with her work mates, by night it was all glamour, expensive champagne and glittering parties; she dated the wealthiest men she could find, fluttering her eyelashes in exchange for expensive gifts and trinkets and tokens of their affection. She didn't care who or how old they were, so long as they bought her things; if they refused she would dump them instantly, moving on to the next.

One day she had been at work, thumbing lazily through a stack of resumes for the Journalist position that had opened at the Bugle recently; when a familiar blast from the past had greeted her eyes.

There sat a resume belonging to non other than Lucy Ashley...talk about an odd coincidence!

Michelle had been genuinely curious to contact her cousin, they hadn't spoke in several years but they had chatted like old friends over the phone; the blond hadn't gotten much luck in her ambition to be a Reporter. It also helped that Michelle heard her mention coming into a tidy sum of money while the blond rambled on about her silly dreams.

So Michelle hatched a plan.

Sure, coercing her into flying across the continent had been easy as pie; even offering her a reprieve from the over-inflated rental prices to live in the big city, letting Lucy stay with her.

The younger blond was still the same weirdo she remembered, if much, much prettier than Lucy had been as a gangly seven year old. Michelle had been embarrassed to be seen picking her up from the airport, with her trashy second hand clothes, old sneakers and an oversized t-shirt; Lucy looked like a vagrant! But no matter, her cousin was sitting on a small fortune; something Michelle had confirmed after snooping through her documents one day.

She just had to figure out how to get a hold of it, which was much harder than she had anticipated it being...Lucy was extremely stingy with her money.

The beautiful blond lived as though she had nothing, her bills were paid on time, but she wore thrift store clothing, bought cheap food and hell if she ever socialised. Her time was spent outside of work with her mangy cat and her nose in a book, dreaming of worlds of magic, adventure and fantasy.

Michelle had asked for a loan here or there, but soon grew bored of being refused. Lucy wasn't just a bumbling, naive and awkward weirdo, she was an extremely smart one.

How was she supposed to outsmart someone with the brains to see right through her?

The answer had come one day when she received a call from an unknown number, offering her a ridiculous sum of money to lure her pretty little cousin to Oracion National Park; push her off a cliff, and most importantly...not to ask any questions.

At first Michelle had thought it a hoax, until she was told to check her bank account.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped to find five million jewel sitting there. The voice on the phone told her the rest would be given to her when the deed had been done. If she refused, she would be killed.

Simple as that. Not like she had any choice in the matter, while she hated her cousin; Michelle wasn't sure she could actually kill a person?

A brief flash of a guilty conscience had vanished when she realised she could start over, a new place where no one knew her past, where people didn't laugh about her behind her back, calling her a gold-digger; and she didn't have a band of criminals breathing down her neck. This would make that all go away...

The day had come, Lucy and herself had eventually gotten to the cliff top; she had pushed her stupidly trusting cousin with satisfying vigour from the ledge; screaming in anguish, just like she was told to. Michelle vaguely remembered saying something to Lucy as she pushed her, almost like someone was speaking through her; but the memory was so hazy that the brunette had just shook it off.

The feeling of power, the feeling of adrenaline as she watched the silly blond disappear underneath the calm waters of the lake; had made her feel amazing...she should have done this years ago!

Maybe that made her unhinged, but Michelle was a survivor; she had spent years using others to get what she wanted and would continue to do so.

She had tried to also get a hold of Lucy's small fortune, sitting in her bank account unused; but with Lucy being unable to be declared dead after only five days, her efforts were in vain.

The bank refused her request...it's not like her stupid cousin would be coming back to claim it.

Once again her attention was diverted from her thoughts by the annoying trill of the diner door bell, and hoo boy...was the man making his way to the counter a fine specimen to feast her eyes on!

Tall, handsome with short dark hair and the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever set eyes on; he looked just as out of place as she did. In her designer silk blouse, tailored black trousers and black boots; a warm grey coat on top to keep her warm.

She hoped this hunk was the person she was waiting for!

The newcomer looked to be around the same age, he was toned but not muscular and had the most perfectly peachy ass she had ever seen.

"Hello, my car has broken down just down the road and my phone is dead...might you have a phone I could –"

"I've got a cell phone you can use, sugar."

Michelle glared as Red winked at the man and held out a cheap looking cell phone to Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome, watching as he swanned off to the other side of the diner, she had been looking forward to a little flirting; rather than having to gag at the old creep who was still salivating over her.

Sadly it looked like her luck wasn't with her this day, because the trucker soon got out of his seat and made his way towards her table. She shuddered in disgust as porky used his sweaty hand to wipe away some red sauce from his three day old stubble, teeth yellowed and food stuck in them as he smirked at her.

"You waiting on someone, darlin'?" the man asked, leaning across her table, his rotund belly smacking the table with a jolt. "How much?"

"Yup." She replied in a clipped and firm tone, hoping he would get bored and go away; her head turning to look away from him, but the creep was persistent. "I'm not for sale, if you want favours, go ask that diseased old red –"

"So, what's a pretty little –"

"Get lost, Porky."

Suddenly she spied a hand come down to sit on the nosy assholes shoulder, cheering internally as the handsome stranger came to her aid and gave the older man a withering glare; that made him look extremely dangerous. She watched as the older man simply walked away, no words spoken between them; her rescuer then smiled down at her.

"Sorry to disturb you, I just couldn't help overhearing." The stranger had a smooth and kind voice that left her feeling extremely calm.

"Oh, it's no trouble, thanks for the rescue!" Michelle smiled flirtily, twirling a lock of dark hair between her fingertips. "Did you manage to get hold of a breakdown service?"

"Yes, I did. The old woman back there charged me five bucks to use her damn phone...but they will be here in the hour." Smiled the man, making her swoon.

"Well, maybe you should sit and enjoy a hot chocolate with me...as a thank you for rescuing me from the vile ogre." Michelle winked.

"If you don't mind...that old witch over there seems to want to drain my soul!"

Mike, his name was; Mike Farley. A handsome twenty nine year old on the way back from visiting family for the weekend, returning to his job as an accountant in the big city; where his newly pregnant wife of two years, Mandy was waiting for him.

Shame, but she still gave him her undivided attention as they chatted; Michelle told him she was meeting an old friend here, before making her way south. A lie, sort of; but Mike didn't seem to be the sort of guy to ask too many questions.

His car had made an awful judder on the highway a quarter of a mile down the road; fluid leaking from the engine.

She had been so busy staring into those dreamy blue eyes that she didn't notice when a third person walked to their table, tapped Mike on the shoulder and announced the breakdown service had arrived.

It was a complete shame when the sound of her ringtone sounded from inside her bag, a message; telling her to go to her car, the person she was meeting had arrived.

"Finally!" Michelle breathed, deleting the message and lifting her head to smile at her companion for the last hour or so. "My friend has just arrived, it's been really nice to talk to you, Mike."

"Thank you for the company, I'll walk you to the parking lot."

"Thanks." Michelle smiled gratefully.

The two of them left their half finished drinks, bid the old man a good evening and walked out into the crisp air. It was dark out now, hardly anyone about; Michelle saw a bright red breakdown van with orange lights flashing obnoxiously near a shiny blue station wagon, just a few meters away from her own brown rust bucket. Geesh...did the breakdown guy own his licence? There were wobbly tyre tracks across the parking lot!

"That's the old girl..." Mike called to the balding and red faced mechanic who had opened his van door and stepped out, looking worse for the wear, giving Mike and Michelle a wave and a friendly smile.

"I'm Chuck, what's the problem?" asked the mechanic, wiping his chubby hands on his brown and grease covered overalls; Chuck was about forty, smelled like gasoline and had a belly so big he hadn't seen his feet in ten years.

Michelle felt a zip of alarm and sudden Deja vu pass through her when Mike pulled an old smart phone from his jean pocket. The memory of him asking the owner of the diner to use a phone made her frown, when the handsome male tapped on the screen to see it with an almost full charge.

"Y-You said your phone was dead..." Michelle spoke nervously, taking a step back from Mike.

The black haired male suddenly turned to face her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. His eyebrows rose at her as Mike gave her a wry look, Chuck snorted with laughter and folded his arms.

"If you wanna be handed a bag of cash in a crowded diner then be my guest..."

Eventually things began to click into place and Michelle suddenly remembered why she had come to this shitty diner in the first place. Mike, if that was even his real name; was the contact she was supposed to be meeting to get her final payment.

"Geesh, like you could have said something before now!" Michelle hissed, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow at the grinning male. Mike didn't have the look of a criminal, but then people wouldn't necessarily say that about her; unless they knew her mind.

But one thing didn't add up...

"So who?" Michelle pointed a polished finger at the breakdown mechanic.

"Oh, I'm your delivery man."

Michelle had two seconds to react to what was about to happen, but she wasn't at all prepared for it.

With a quick movement, Chuck the mechanic went to open the sliding door of the van, with a shout; Michelle was grabbed from behind by Mike; who was much stronger than he appeared to be, holding a hand firmly over her mouth to stop her scream. Struggling in his arms, she felt tears pooling in her eyes as the van door was opened; but her eyes refused to believe what it was she was looking at.

Instead of an arsenal of tools, car parts and the like, what greeted her wide and teary eyes was a shimmering mass of blue and white light, swirling in a slow circle; a portal to absolute darkness. Chuck's face suddenly morphed from an easy smile to a look of unbridled fury, he waddled towards her with a terrifying menace that made her whimper.

"You see, bitch...you've pissed off some pretty important people. Throwing Lucy off a cliff in exchange for hush money? Well...we got a few questions for ya." Chuck's hot breath scorched her ear.

Confusion and fear crippled her for a moment, before she felt her world going dim; air was scarce as Mike held his hands over her nose and mouth, tears rushing down her cheeks and his painful hand as she lost consciousness.

Michelle wondered what in the hell was going on as her entire world faded to blackness.

* * *

She was in an extremely foul mood when she was woken the next morning...or what she thought was morning.

For some odd reason she felt extremely jet lagged, as though her body clock was all over the place from a change in time zone. Her sleep had been plagued with a horrific nightmare of being kidnapped, tied up and tossed painfully into the back of a van.

How odd...

Memory more than a little foggy, her senses alerted her to the consistent drop of water; leaking in from somewhere nearby. With a gasp, Michelle shot upwards into a sitting position; head pounding. Similar to the effects of a hangover, her mouth felt extremely dry, her ears were ringing and she felt extremely sick to her stomach.

"Urgh...I need to stop shooting straight Vodka." She groaned, her fingertips massaging her temple; wondering who the one to host last nights party had been.

Coco was probably the one, her friend did happen to have a filthy rich father who owned several distilleries country wide; and an eighty proof Vodka was their speciality, and boy did it pack quite the punch. Michelle opened her eyes, expecting to find herself sleeping off her hangover in one of Coco's thirteen spare bedrooms; on her family's estate just outside the city, instead she found herself under a dirty and musty grey coat.

Hers!

The confused brunette was sitting on a thin and lumpy roll out mattress, a sad and well used pillow with stuffing coming out of a hole; sat limply where her head had been resting. Her mouth dropped open comically as she found herself in a damp and cold cell, a thick iron door locking her in; nothing to keep her company except a rusty old bucket in the far corner.

There was a barred window above her head, showing a sky ablaze with fire; if her bleary eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

Panic began to mount as her mind was suddenly flooded with images of the dingy diner, meeting a mystery man called Mike, who had lured her in with his smooth voice and pretty eyes; before he and the mechanic had grabbed her in the parking lot and knocked her out.

Wherever they had brought her, it had to have been quite some time later; her clothes were ripped and dirty, purse nowhere to be found. She didn't have a mirror to check her face, but she could feel a sting in her right cheek; either a scratch or bruise was sat there. Swinging her legs over to her right, Michelle got shakily to her feet; stumbling over to look out of the window, to try and work out where the hell she was.

A rocky and mountainous brown landscape was laid out before her, no plants, no landmarks and no form of life at all. The sky above looked to be made of flame, rolling red and orange bands shifting and changing like an aurora. It was hot, really hot; far more than Edolas was supposed to be this time of year.

Michelle might have thought all of this was some elaborate hoax, or that she had been tricked and taken into police custody; but just as she was about to scream out for help at the top of her lungs, the door to her cell squeaked open.

She whipped round to find a man dressed in medieval garb, a suit of armour decked out with a hand hammered crest of two dragons facing back to back; a shield in between them.

"I didn't know there was a Resonance Festival in town...are you here to take me to be be-headed?" Michelle quipped, giggling behind her manicured nails. The guard-knight looked less than amused, but grasped onto her arm tightly; dragging her harshly from her cell.

"That depends, human."

"O-On what?" Michelle laughed nervously, too scared to try and wriggle out of his grip.

"The outcome of the next few moments." Spoke the man harshly. 'You're to be questioned for attempted murder."

"W-What?! I-I haven't done anything!" Michelle denied, horror and worry filling her insides with dread as she was escorted up a tightly spiralled stone staircase; feeling as though she had took a wrong turning somewhere in the dark ages...this place, wherever it was; reeked of the ages.

Her legs began to hurt from their climb, before she and her guard arrived at a ornate metal door; carved with the same dual dragon and shield emblem as the guards chest piece.

"Look...I'm sure there has been a horrible misunderstanding –" Michelle tried to bat her eyelashes at the man, but he ignored her as the metal door was opened and she was frog marched into a circular room.

Her eyes widened as she took in the room, set with pews, mostly empty except for some shadowed silhouettes to her right; five people, but she couldn't see who. There were no windows or doors, except the one she had been brought through.

A tiny old man sat in the middle of the room, at a table with two chairs; he in one, and she gathered the other was hers. Michelle glared at the guard as she was shoved down into the chair.

"Geesh, could you be a little more gentle?" she snapped, before she turned to look at the tiny old man.

He was pint sized, yes; but he was terrifying. His wrinkled face and grey hair made it difficult to figure out exactly how old he was, but his eyes held a wisdom that made him seem as though he were hundreds of years old; Michelle scoffed at the impossibility. He was dressed in a fur collared white jacket, golden chains handing from the shoulders; head balding at the crown with a thick beard and hair by his ears. On the table sat a cell phone and a very familiar backpack...one she hadn't seen in five days.

Not since her cousin fell to her death.

"What the hell is going on?" Michelle demanded, noticing the cell phone was blinking a red light at a two second interval; indicating their conversation was being recorded.

"Michelle Lobster, you are here to be questioned on suspicion of your involvement in the disappearance of your cousin, Lucy Ashley."

Michelle sighed and rolled her eyes, tapping her nails against the wooden table top. Not this shit again...

"Look...I've already been questioned by the police about this...I told them what happened and so did the two witnesses. Lucy walked too far towards the cliff, looked over the edge to view the water; the rock beneath her feet gave way and she fell to her death."

Makarov levelled a smile at the girl as she looked down at her hands sadly, tears in her eyes.

"I still feel guilty that –"

"I'm not asking for the fabrication you fed the police...I want the real account of events." Makarov steepled his fingers together, leaning forwards in his chair. "You are misunderstood, aren't you? Such a sad past and yet you were just trying to make a better life for yourself."

Michelle felt real tears welling in her eyes, this man had an air of calm that made her feel secure; he seemed to understand her!

"Y-Yeah...my birth mom was desperate...couldn't get a job so she had to resort to selling herself to put food on the table. She reminded me everyday that I was a burden, a mistake. I was relieved when the old crow passed away." Michelle sighed, wringing her hands together, gaze distant as she relived her memories.

"You were an orphan, no where to go; that must have been terrifying for a little girl." Makarov murmured.

"Yeah...till I got taken in by a friend of the cop who found me, aunt Layla and...L-Lucy." Michelle sniffled.

"How was that?" Makarov asked, nodding in understanding.

"Scary...but Layla was a kind woman, I never hated her."

"Lucy was different though."

Michelle looked up at Makarov, he seemed to be a friend; genuinely worried about her, she didn't want to disappoint this man...not at all.

"Lucy was the perfect angel, pretty, smart, kind and helpful. I was jealous of her, I'd never had a mother who loved me so unconditionally. Layla was too trusting, so I used to steal things, it made me feel powerful; important. Worth more than some whores daughter, who didn't have a father. Layla was so proud of her little princess, but she didn't really like me much, I could see it in her eyes...the disappointment...pity."

"Layla tried her best...but she couldn't cope with you." Makarov frowned.

"She tossed me aside, like a unwanted toy; my social worker tried me with different families. Every single one didn't want me, until a rich couple from the Royal City came who wanted a daughter so badly they didn't care I was difficult." Michelle laughed humourlessly. "So I went with them, they were naive and stupid; I called them mom and pop and I got anything I wanted. I started to become somebody, I got good at manipulating them; I didn't have good grades, but I was cunning. I used people."

"Quite the impressive achievement." Makarov smiled, drawing her in with words she wanted to hear.

"Yeah...then the idiots got themselves arrested, scamming people out of millions. So I took what I could and stashed it away before I lost everything again, I wasn't arrested for being involved in their scam, I honestly had no idea they were criminals; my good luck improved when I flirted myself into a job as a receptionist, but after a few months money ran out."

"But you found a solution."

"Yeah...I found Lucy had applied for a job at the paper. I knew from our phone conversation where she went on like a broken record about her dreams of being a journalist or reporter; Layla had been saving money for years for Lucy. So I hatched a plan to convince her to move to the Royal City, the stupid girl jumped at the chance...but a lifetime of living in squalor and she was a stingy bitch. I met her at the airport, she looked like a homeless person; and the real kick in my teeth? She was so much prettier than I could ever hope to be. I hated her even more." Michelle hissed, eyes sliding back into focus for a moment to grin proudly at the old man in front of her.

"Clever...but it didn't work." Makarov was brilliant, luring her in with pretty words to stoke her ego, Michelle completely forgot that everything was being recorded.

"Nope...she was smart. Lucy wouldn't lend me money after the first few loans, nor did she spend anything beyond normal bills and her mangy cat. So I tried to think of another way to get her money. One day I got a message from an unknown number, saying if I lured my cousin to Oracion National Park and pushed her off the cliff there, they would make me rich. It seemed too good to be true. Then I was told to check my bank...five million jewel sat in there!"

"That is a lot of money for a simple job." Makarov stroked his beard, impressed.

"Yeah...so I lured her there, told her I wanted the exercise. The stupid girl was naive enough to turn her back on me, so I stepped up to her."

"What did you say?"

"I dunno, felt as though something possessed me for a second. But I was completely myself when I..."

"Go on."

"When I pushed Lucy Ashley off that cliff." Michelle grinned proudly, too involved in her brilliance she didn't hear the growl of another man in the room, nor see the hand cover the mouth in shock of another. "I was told to scream for her...y'know to make it believable. The couple who found me were on the same hush money I was, so I got away with it. I felt invincible, the rush was amazing! I'd have gladly pushed that perfect little bitch off for free, had I known what it would feel like. I just had to get the rest of my reward, I owed a lot of money to the gang presiding over the Royal City; so I sweet talked them into forgetting I existed for eight hundred thousand jewel and the agreement I'd skip town."

"Why did you owe them money?"

"Gambling debt...the Parnell's own the fanciest casino in the Royal City. I lost a lot of money there, was having trouble paying back the five hundred thousand. I paid them in cash with my deposit for killing Lucy, I got took off their hit list. Heck, then even offered me a stake in the casino, when I told them where I got the cash! I just laughed and said they were supposed to be pretending I didn't exist." Michelle rolled her eyes haughtily. "I'd grown to hate the city, you're only someone if you have money; and so I made a plan to travel south, after meeting at a local diner to meet someone to get the last of my payment."

"What happened after that?"

"I got tricked...and brough –" Michelle suddenly stopped talking, the far away look in her eyes turning lucid as they widened in horror. Her hand clamped down on her mouth and she gripped at the table with a white knuckle grip.

"Y-You...who are you people?" Michelle muffled, watching as Makarov waved a hand, the guard holding tightly onto her arms and secured her to her seat; Michelle watched as Makarov smiled benignly at her and picked up the phone from the table.

"Who we are is none of your concern, my dear. Our only concern is Lucy, and how she died."

"Are you the cops?" Michelle hissed, her breath ragged as her face contorted in fury at being tricked into confessing.

"No, but this device I am told has recorded our conversation. It shall be handed to the authorities." Makarov smiled jovially. "Sadly I do no have the power to have you arrested, in this place."

"Then why the hell am I here?" Michelle shouted, trying to wriggle free.

Suddenly a pair of very familiar figures walked into the light behind the old man, a tall and handsome black haired male with pretty blue eyes; the other the portly mechanic who had helped Mike kidnap her.

"Y-You! You bastards tricked me!"

"Call it vigilante justice...if you will." Mike grinned, his eyes narrowing at her.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to Luce." Chuck growled, eyes narrowed in absolute blind hatred. "If it we're up to me, I'd have you pushed into the nearby volcano; or ripped to shreds by wild dogs."

"It is not your choice, brother." Mike replied to Chuck. Brothers? Michelle would have laughed if she wasn't shaking with anger, the two looked nothing alike.

"You're related?" Michelle hissed.

"We don't normally look this way." Chuckled Mike.

Michelle gasped as blue and white flames, red and orange flames engulfed around the two men, before their appearances changed as the flames died down; her eyes refused to believe she had just seen two men on fire, looking over the two drop dead gorgeous males who she could now see were obviously brothers. One with pink hair, one with black, the raven slightly taller and leaner; the pinkette shorter but more muscled.

"Not that I can see you, but you smell infinitely better in your normal form, Natsu." Zeref mused, giving his younger brother a smirk.

"At least you got to look normal, 'Ref...I looked like a fat and pungent ogre." The pinkette grumbled, making the raven laugh.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?" Michelle screamed dramatically, her face turning red with anger, her wild eyes darting back and forth between the three men, before Makarov hopped down from his seat and walked away from the table; in the shadows Michelle watched as he handed the cell phone to another person, who saved the file and turned off the phone.

"They are the people who found me, confused...scared and alone in a desolate wilderness...my real family." Came a bitter and disappointed female voice, a voice that sent chills down Michelle's spine, because she knew that voice anywhere.

It was the voice of the person that she had convinced herself was dead.

"L-Lucy?" Michelle whispered into the room, eyes wide and fearful as though she had seen a ghost as a familiar woman walked into the light.

Lucy Ashley stood before her, as beautiful and as infuriatingly kind looking as ever; dressed in a strange outfit, that seemed to even strangely suit her. The top was a deep red, off the shoulder with long billowy sleeves, black woollen leggings and a pair of knee high brown leather boots; there was a ornately woven whip or lasso clipped to her left hip, and her butt length hair was braided into a side plait. Lucy looked alive, and not just alive; but glowing.

Literally. Glowing. Like a star!

"W-What the –" Michelle frowned, she shut her eyes tightly and reopened them; Lucy was back to normal, as normal as a person she had seen fall to her death just days ago could be... "How?"

"I was in denial when I heard from Makarov that he and Igneel had spoken about my reason for being here, Makarov had been watching you from this world; so we hatched a plan to get you here for questioning. He can be very persuasive...so he stoked your ego. Got you to confess, he said it's my decision what we will do with you. As you're a human, the only option for you here is death; but I don't want that." Lucy explained, her voice calm and her emotions guarded.

Michelle sneered at her cousin...she was still as soft and pathetic as always.

"So I used my phone to record your confession, we're going to tie you up...send you back home with my backpack. The one missing as well as my body, Makarov has already contacted the police; telling them a murderer is in Oracion National Park." Lucy smiled slightly. "Fitting, isn't it? You're going to be taken back to the scene of the crime."

Michelle snickered, as her hands and feet were bound.

"I'll tell them you aren't dead! I can't be arrested for a murder that never happened."

Lucy held up a hand, silencing her cousin.

"But you did try to kill me, and I have no intention of going back...my home is here. The Lucy Ashley you knew and hate is dead...I won't let you use or hurt anyone anymore."

Michelle opened her mouth to hurl abuse as the woman, but before she could get the words out, Lucy walked towards her; deceptively delicate fist clenched, she had little time to react as pain exploded across her right cheek. Michelle hissed as Lucy punched her, her eyes watering and her head snapping to the side; a single tear fell from her eyes as she looked up at her cousin.

"I-I hate you." Michelle seethed, saying no more as she was pulled to her feet by the two brothers; their grip on her bound arms tight and bruising as she was pulled away from the table she had been sat at. Lucy simply walked away, however, just before Michelle was dragged through the same black portal she had seen back in the van at the diner; Lucy turned to her cousin.

"I won't give you the satisfaction of hating you."

Darkness engulfed Michelle as she was pulled into the swirling mass of colours, her eyes blinking several times until she found herself standing on her own in an eerily familiar place.

The moon high in the night sky illuminated the crystal smooth lake of the Oracion National Park, the breeze was light and cooling and Michelle found herself smiling manically; marvelling in the stupidity of being left to walk free. Lucy's bag was sitting innocently off to the side, within it; the damn phone with the recorded confession.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to prison for you." Michelle hissed into the air, she turned to reach over and grab the handle of the backpack; her fingers inches away from grasping the pale blue strap in her hand.

With a sudden ominous creak of stone, Michelle yelled out, startled to find her world falling out from underneath her as the rock beneath her feet gave way. Wind rushed passed her ears as she fell, the wail of sirens in the not far off distance; dread settled into her stomach as the water rushed to meet her from the long drop. Her body suddenly turned in the fall, and tears fell from her eyes as she found herself looking up at the clear sky. She accepted defeat, memories flooding her mind and regret aching in her chest.

Her back hit the water and her world exploded in pain, right before everything went black.

For Michelle Lobster, it would be the last thing she would ever feel.

* * *

**Well after that roller coaster, see you soon for the next chapter!**


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